Dalcroze Connections, Winter 2021 (English)

DALCROZE DALCROZE

Connections Connections LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1 LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1

ENGLISH

Winter 2 0 2 1 Vo l.6, No . 1 • w w w .d al c ro z e us a. o rg

DALCROZE CONNECTIONS • WINTER 2021 VOL.6, NO.1 • WWW.DALCROZEUSA.ORG • LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1 (ENGLISH)

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DALCROZE

Connections Submission deadlines for each volume year are August 1 and February 1.

Dalcroze Connections accepts advertisements at the sizes listed below. Ads not provided at the purchased size will be resized as needed to fit the space.

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Advertisements should be submitted to admin@dalcrozeusa.org Contact us for pricing and placement availability Full Page: 7.5" x 10" 1/2 Page Vertical: 3.375" x 9" 1/2 Page Horizontal: 7" x 4.375" 1/4 Page Vertical: 3.375" x 4.375" 1/4 Page Horizontal: 7" x 2.25" MANAGING EDITOR: Katie Couch Dalcroze Connections is produced and edited by the Publications Committee: William Bauer Aaron Butler Michael Joviala Michelle Li Alex Marthaler (ex officio) Elda Nelly Treviño Jeanette Wong JOURNAL DESIGN Melissa Neely / www.neelyhousedesign.com Articles should be submitted electronically to the editor (editor@dalcrozeusa.org). Submissions to Dalcroze Connections should be no longer than 2500 words. Contributors are encouraged to submit related photographs and images.

Submission guidelines: https://dalcrozeusa.org/ resources/publications/guidelines/ The views expressed in Dalcroze Connections do not necessarily represent those of the Dalcroze Society of America.

IN THIS ISSUE 1 A Note from the Editor (Nota de la editora) Elda Nelly Treviño Flores (México) 2 Perspectives on the development of JaquesDalcroze’s Eurhythmics in Latin America Silvia Del Bianco (Argentina) 7 Dalcroze Eurhythmics practice in México Elda Nelly Treviño Flores (México) 12 Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Argentine Republic: its introduction and the history of professional artistic education from 1938 to the present Lilia Beatriz Sánchez (Argentina) 22 Application of Dalcroze pedagogy in an intercultural context: the case of Bolivia Karen Pérez Vila (Bolivia) 26 Applications of the Jaques-Dalcroze Methodology in piano teaching for children: a Costa Rican approach.

María Verónica Jiménez Quesada (Costa Rica) 30 Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics training in South America: a journey that has already begun Pablo Cernik (Argentina) ANNOUNCEMENTS 36

The DSA Memorial Scholarship Fund

36 Donors/Patron Members: Thank You 36

DSA Chapters

37

Become a Member

37

Bequests

37

Board of Trustees

ADVERTISERS: 11

Música Viva

19

The Dalcroze School of the Rockies

20

Dalcroze Society of America 2022 National Conference

20

Virtual Dalcroze Meet-up

21

Dalcroze Programs, Mexico City

35 Carnegie Mellon School of Music Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center ISSN 2769-8602 (Online) ISSN 2769-8564 (Print)

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The Dalcroze Lab

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR (Nota de la editora) Elda Nelly Treviño Flores (México) I feel very honored to be a member of the publications committee of the Dalcroze Society of America, thanks to a kind invitation from Dr. William Bauer, and honored to be guest editor of two special issues dedicated to Dalcroze eurhythmics advocacy and teaching in Latin America.

Me siento muy honrada por pertenecer al comité de publicaciones de la Dalcroze Society of America (DSA), gracias a la amable invitación del Dr. William Bauer, y honrada de fungir como editora invitada de dos ejemplares especiales dedicados a la promoción y enseñanza de la Rítmica JaquesDalcroze en Latinoamérica.

The DSA has played an important role in my Dalcroze education through scholarships I received from it during my studies at the Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Without the financial support of the DSA and CMU, I would not have been able to to earn neither my certificate nor my license.

La DSA ha tenido un papel importante en mi formación en la Rítmica Jaques Dalcroze a través de las becas que he recibido por parte de ésta durante mis estudios en el Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center en la Universidad de Carnegie Mellon (CMU). Sin el apoyo económico de la DSA y de CMU no me hubiera sido posible obtener mi certificado y licencia.

I personally think of these two special bilingual (English and Spanish) issues related to Dalcroze in Latin America as a tribute to my very dear teacher Marta Sánchez (1923–2006), who never forgot her Latin American heritage. Born in Chile, she lived and worked in the US for many years until her death and always found ways to help Latin American students pursue a Dalcroze music education.

A nivel personal pienso en estos dos ejemplares especiales bilingües (Inglés y Español) relacionados a la Rítmica JaquesDalcroze en América Latina como un homenaje a mi muy querida maestra Marta Sánchez (1923-2006), quien jamás olvidó su origen latinoamericano. Nacida en Chile, trabajó en Estados Unidos durante muchos años hasta su muerte y siempre encontró la manera de ayudar a estudiantes latinos a recibir una formación en la Rítmica Jaques-Dalcroze.

Many thanks to the DSA as an organization for being open to the testimonies of the work done by teachers, students, and Dalcroze followers in Latin American countries, and for being willing to have two bilingual issues of Dalcroze Connections, thus underscoring the idea of America as an entire continent.

Como organización, agradezco a la DSA por su apertura al recibir testimonios del trabajo realizado por maestros, alumnos y seguidores de Jaques-Dalcroze en Latinoamérica y por hacer posible la publicación de dos ejemplares bilingües de la revista Dalcroze Connections, pensando en América como el continente completo.

Many thanks to Dr. Michael Joviala for attaining an ISSN for Dalcroze Connections and for making possible these special issues.

Muchas gracias al Dr. Michael Joviala por adquirir el código ISSN para Dalcroze Connections y por hacerlo posible para estos ejemplares especiales.

Many thanks to the Publications Committee and the whole DSA team for making me feel at home as a colleague rather than an “international member.”

Agradezco al comité de publicaciones y a todo el equipo de la DSA por hacerme sentir en casa como una colega y no como un “miembro internacional”.

Many thanks for the time, space, and energy dedicated by my colleagues from Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Argentina, who put into words for this particular issue of DC their own experiences of Dalcroze eurhythmics practice in their cultures.

Mi agradecimiento por el tiempo, espacio y energía dedicados por mis colegas de Costa Rica, Bolivia y Argentina quienes pusieron en palabras, para este ejemplar en específico, sus experiencias en la práctica de la Rítmica Jaques-Dalcroze en sus culturas.

I especially want to thank Silvia Del Bianco, director of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, who is Argentinian herself, for her long-term global perspective and for her permanent support of Dalcroze eurhythmics practice on the American continent, especially in México, my home country.

Quiero agradecer muy especialmente a Silvia Del Bianco, de origen argentino y directora del Institut JaquesDalcroze en Ginebra, por su visión global a largo plazo y por su apoyo permanente hacia la práctica de la Rítmica Jaques-Dalcroze en todo el continente americano, en particular en mi país, México.

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Perspectives on the development of Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics in Latin America Silvia Del Bianco (Argentina)

As director of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and as a Latin American myself, I would like to thank the Dalcroze Society of America for dedicating this edition of Dalcroze Connections to the development of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in Latin America.

I am confident that readers across the US, Canada, and Latin America will find the articles thought-provoking and use them as a springboard for new mutual perspectives and ideas.

I hope this edition will help us reflect upon and celebrate the contributions of Latin America to the eurhythmics world.

I would particularly like to remember two people who have been key contributors on this journey and have marked successive generations: Marta Sánchez and Lía Sirouyan.

The various movement, vocal, and instrumental activities are designed to stimulate creativity. At all levels, students use improvisation to develop their own artistic language, independence, and imagination. Their creativity finds expression in individual and group projects. Émile JaquesDalcroze expressed this clearly: By sharing music and pedagogy, I simply tried to impart certain experiences that prove that these two elements of life complement each other, that pedagogy is an art and that art is the most active of teachers. (Attinger, 1942, p. 2017)

As this theme is so broad, I have decided to approach it in the form of questions I feel we might ask ourselves today.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics: An education through music and for music?

Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a dynamic and interactive approach to musical education that connects our auditory and kinesthetic senses. The natural link between music and movement is explored through individual and group exercises in a given space. Piano improvisation by the teacher helps students discover, explore, recognize, expand, and assimilate content. It is this distinct approach to learning that leads us to call it an education “through music and for music.”

It is a holistic approach that educates all the senses, allowing individuals to develop many different skills and abilities.

Central to Dalcroze Eurhythmics is the principle that our body is our first instrument. A musical education through eurhythmics is an education of our perceptions and our different types of intelligences. Looking at eurhythmics from the point of view of the theory of multiple intelligences proposed by US psychologist Howard Gardner, we can particularly cite musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial-visual, intrapersonal, and interpersonal intelligence; however, there is also logical-mathematical intelligence, which is so key to understanding the abstract language of music, as well as verbal-linguistic intelligence, as the teacher asks students to always be aware of the senses used and to translate their impressions into spoken language.

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Pedagogy is an art Something I have always found fascinating about eurhythmics classes is that they can be adapted to all audiences, from the youngest to the oldest, from amateurs to professionals, to those with special needs, and also all cultures. The application of eurhythmics is universal. That is what has made my love of it increase over the thirty-two years I have spent teaching Jaques-Dalcroze’s philosophy in the twenty-one countries that have given me the opportunity to teach it. I have seen how the lessons provoke similar or different reactions according to the context, and I have seen the pleasure it gives the participants as they discover new abilities in a group setting and connect to their creativity.

Applying these principles has given me, as the teacher, great pleasure. The practice of eurhythmics transforms and molds us as human beings and develops us in many ways.

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Perspectives on the development of Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics in Latin America, continued

Usually, eurhythmics education teaches music and facilitates access to playing an instrument. However, in some other cases (for example, where eurhythmics is used with seniors or those with Parkinson’s disease or special needs) eurhythmics and music are used to achieve specific aims, such as: recovering mobility, coordination, and group movement, among others. Applications are numerous and can differ depending on the country.

The current status of Dalcroze centers in Latin America: Informing or training?

Eurhythmics has always been popular in Latin America.

Many teachers have helped raise awareness of the Dalcroze approach by speaking at conferences and running introductory courses, which have been attended with interest by music and dance teachers. These events have served to raise awareness of the fact that eurhythmics works, but have not been enough to provide the training to become a professional teacher of eurhythmics.

Many interested individuals seek to gain professional qualification in eurhythmics without realizing that to learn and teach eurhythmics, you need personal change. What do I mean by that? It is one thing to understand the principles of the Dalcroze approach on an intellectual level, but to teach it, we need to have understood, carried out, taken in, and been made aware of what it means to us personally in order to transmit this to our students. I need to have developed qualities in myself that allow me to create the right context in a class and accompany students on their sensory and motor journey.

Let me give a practical example. Working on the duration of a bar, the group is seated in a circle. Each student rolls the ball to the person on their right. This exercise might take place at a gymnastics class or in a school break time. What specific elements should be present in order to differentiate a Dalcroze Eurhythmics class from any other class? Movement and musical quality (the synchronization or embodiment of both), the adjustment of this movement to the intentions of the teacher’s improvisation on an instrument, the adaptation of agogic or dynamic changes in space that the exercise can provoke, the ability to react to musical or verbal cues, the ability to anticipate gestures, the coordination between visual, spatial, kinesthetic, and musical perception. Without this context, the exercise can still be carried out, but the aim and the result will not be the same.

The example I have given covers all the skills and abilities that the teacher needs. To develop them requires time—time for your body movement, your voice, and your skills on your instrument. The interaction between these three branches is

intrinsic to our own training and is what allows us to train our students holistically as interpreters, teachers, and individuals.

To sum up, if those who are interested in this approach seek fast and immediate training without seeking personal development at the same time, they will be wasting their time because eurhythmics demands both time and great dedication, and will change our own way of perceiving and being.

There are currently three countries in Latin America with training centers offering a certificate qualification: Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Training is on a part-time basis and takes two years. Training is organized into modules, and there are both in-person and virtual modules, depending on each center. I find this very encouraging, and I’m hopeful for further development and potential training of teachers both now and in the future.

The fact that the certificate is available at three different centers is a real achievement, and I am profoundly grateful to all those who have made this happen by their enthusiasm, dynamism, and motivation.

I should point out that the qualification is slightly different at each center because each is designed to meet the standards of the country’s institutions.

Whereas some trainings are done by means of isolated workshops, the certificate training program differs in that it has been designed to develop the main skills needed for teaching. Coherence and continuity in these programs guarantee and ensure integration, progress, and the application of the key principles of the method.

Eurhythmics; body, vocal, and instrumental improvisation; solfège (sight singing); movement; Plastique Animée; and pedagogy are some of the subjects taught in the programs. The main objective is to offer quality teaching. Different instructors teach the programs in order to provide diversity of focus and bring in a variety of styles and models.

There is collaboration and coordination between the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, a teacher with the Diplôme Supérieur who is responsible for the training, and the institution which hosts the program in the Latin American countries. The Latin American centers provide each qualifying individual with a certificate that allows them to apply the Dalcroze principles to their own professional field but does not qualify them to teach the method. To be a eurhythmics teacher, you need a master’s degree in Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics or a License in Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics, which currently cannot be obtained in Latin America because there are no License programs in existence.

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Perspectives on the development of Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics in Latin America, continued

Here is some information about these centers: Mexico: from 2012 to 2016 Conservatorio de las Rosas, A.C. in Morelia, Michoacán QUALIFICATION: Certificado en rítmica

Dalcroze para la aplicación de principios dalcrozianos en el ámbito profesional DIPLÔME SUPÉRIEUR: Pablo Cernik

Mexico: from 2022 Universidad Panamericana, Escuela de Bellas Artes. Campus Mixcoac, Mexico City QUALIFICATION: Certificado en rítmica

Dalcroze para la aplicación de principios dalcrozianos en el ámbito profesional DIPLÔME SUPÉRIEUR: Eugènia Arús WEBSITE:

https://eba.up.edu.mx/

programas-dalcroze.html

Chile: from 2015 Instituto profesional Escuela Moderna de Música y Danza, Santiago de Chile QUALIFICATION: Diplomado de metodologia

Ritmica Jaques-Dalcroze DIPLÔME SUPÉRIEUR: Pablo Cernik WEBSITE: https://emoderna.cl/

diplomado-ritmica-jaquesdalcroze/

Argentina: from 2017 Universidad Nacional de las Artes, Departamento de Artes Musicales y Sonoras, Buenos Aires QUALIFICATION: Certificado de curso de

post-grado en Ritmica Jaques-Dalcroze DIPLÔME SUPÉRIEUR: Pablo Cernik WEBSITE:

https://jaquesdalcroze.com/

Why is it difficult to expand eurhythmics in Latin America?

A general look at the history of eurhythmics shows us that from 1911, when Émile Jaques-Dalcroze opened the first professional eurhythmics school at Hellerau (1911–1914) in Germany, centers have popped up and, at times, also disappeared around the world, for different reasons. This article is not intended to recreate this list, but it is certainly worth looking at some common denominators. What aspects favor the creation of a program? There are many: teachers who, because of their training, motivation, and conviction are able to move forward with these projects, social and economic environments that are open to new ideas, institutional opportunities that encourage progressive thinking, and a public in search of new ideas.

The twentieth century has been a century of great transformation.

In terms of mobility and communication media, the available means of teaching, both physical and technological, have evolved.

For a long time, it was not possible to have a Dalcroze training program in Latin America. Introductory eurhythmics courses were available at music conservatories or universities, but there was no formal, complete eurhythmics program available to allow students to reach an advanced level. The option to carry on training in the USA or Europe was and still is not available for various reasons (financial, linguistic, familial, professional etc.).

Given the current situation in Latin America and the three existing training centers, what are the difficulties involved in developing eurhythmics courses?

• Social and economic issues: For many music teachers, bearing the costs of training in the certificate is difficult, and the institutions they work in are not always able to help them pay these expenses.

• The size of Latin America: Even within a country, the distance between the training center and the person’s home can make training very expensive.

• Volatility of institutions (micro and macro): Changes in management at an institution can make a difference as to whether a program is promoted or not. The same occurs at the national level, where a change of government can quickly close a training center down.

• Physical facilities: Eurhythmics classes need big spaces with clean floors and a good piano. These three conditions together can be a luxury.

• Programs must be taught by a teacher with a Diplôme Supérieur qualification: Such teachers are rare and the costs of traveling from Europe or within the American continent make training costly.

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Perspectives on the development of Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics in Latin America, continued

Other difficulties have to do with personal or interpersonal aspects:

I know these comments are subjective, and they are also based on my own experience as a Latin American.

• Disagreements between colleagues makes teamwork difficult: The strained relationship between rhythmic colleagues sometimes does not allow trust and promotion of joint work.

Of course, just having these traits doesn’t make us teachers of eurhythmics overnight, but we can lean on our own character traits that work well with Dalcrozian principles, do the required training, and be accepting of change.

• Self-efficacy of participants in terms of their own results and level: Training is demanding and, in many cases, more demanding than anticipated. It takes students to levels previously unexperienced in their musical training. Students giving up on courses is a real threat to continuation of programs, which are not subsidized and for which the participants themselves have to pay.

I think the first thing we should focus on is working on our weaknesses and limited mindset so we can reveal our potential and talent.

• Limiting beliefs: Participants are often unaware of their own potential and want external help instead of concentrating on practicing alone on a regular basis and investing in their own training and development.

Work is intense and demanding. You need resilience, focus, discipline, and good habits to meet the aims and requirements of the program.

Going back to the certificate programs, the challenge of these training projects lies in ensuring a good quality program while adapting to the culture of the country.

What positive attributes do Latin American eurhythmics students possess?

As director of the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute in Geneva since 2006, I have had the opportunity to teach at and communicate with those Dalcroze training centers across the world providing professional programs. Part of my work is to observe programs, teachers, and students, and they are, naturally, very different in different places. While trying to avoid generalizations or stereotypes, I would say that Latin Americans have a lot in their favor when it comes to the Dalcroze approach: • Improvisation and creativity: They take pleasure in applying and inventing.

• Adaptability and flexibility: They find it easy to accept change and encourage it.

• Curiosity: They like to search for and give new purpose to what already exists.

• Expression of emotion and feeling: Latin Americans value spontaneity and have a desire to communicate and to participate.

• Music corporality: They like movement and find it easy and natural.

• Group work: They understand the need to belong to a group and the pleasure of community.

• Rich musical heritage: They identify with and are proud of their myriad musical heritages, which makes them willing interpreters and teachers.

The Jaques-Dalcroze brand image and qualifications: How do we maintain a high quality education?

Dalcroze Eurhythmics is both a method and a registered brand with clear parameters and required conditions for application and promotion. Link: https://www.dalcroze. ch/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Conditions_nouvelles_ english_CFvalid%C3%A9_19.09_2.pdf Collaboration between training centers and the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute is fundamental. Agreement must be on multiple levels: study programs, proposed material and content, selection criteria, certified exams, and the teaching staff selected to make up the team. Follow-up and collaboration are rigorous and yield excellent end results.

On the other hand, qualified teachers can benefit from practical assessment, exchange between professionals, and refresher training. The creation of refresher training courses is the next stage for existing centers and for the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute.

What is the future of eurhythmics in Latin America?

The 2020 pandemic has impacted and suspended our work worldwide. We hope we will soon be able to return to in-person learning, which is so essential to our teaching.

Increasing perception, neuromuscular connections, and improvisation in addition to subtle corrections by the teacher and fostering group dynamics can only be done in person. These principles are indispensable and fundamental to our method. Virtual classes can be helpful in a number of ways, such as reviewing theory (which is sometimes lacking in classes), developing creativity in reduced spaces and without material, and working on solfège and instrumental improvisation. We do need to integrate technology into our in-person classes. Both Latin America and the rest of the world needs to find the right balance between virtual and in-person teaching.

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Perspectives on the development of Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics in Latin America, continued

Open day at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva Better integration across the continent (between Canada, the USA, and Latin America) could be an option, in spite of the cultural and linguistic differences. Canada and the USA have teachers holding a Diplôme Supérieur who could perhaps help with Latin American programs. Of course, if we had to rely on translation, we might end up with a lot less time for the teaching of the method itself. That is why multilingual teachers would be a great asset.

As Spanish is the second language of the USA, we would hope that links between centers might encourage the practice and learning of this language.

It is very important to consolidate and give continuity to the existing training centers to ensure the certificate program continues and to give refresher training for the teachers when they finish their initial training.

Looking to the future, one important step will be the creation of an IberoAmerican License in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, the result of cooperation between the Latin American centers and Spain. We could then train teachers who could advertise themselves as teachers of Dalcroze Eurhythmics.

I am aware that although it is easy to plan programs, the costs involved in transporting teachers and students are high and the economic landscape is not currently favorable. This financial reality leads us to think about finding sponsors to promote future training programs. The Jaques-Dalcroze Institute lends its support by sending a Diplôme Supérieur teacher once a year to each Latin American training center. This is key, and yet, at the same time, is insufficient given the needs of each center. Travel costs are a problem.

The search for sponsorship from Swiss institutions has not been successful because funding is awarded for use in Switzerland and not abroad. We need to reflect on this matter, find other ways and options, and develop a support network (through industry, associations, and private sponsors).

One huge country in Latin America could also do with its very own training center: Brazil. I would love to see this happen in the next few years. Its location, rich musical heritage, more stable economy, and wealth of linguistic skills makes it the perfect place for a new training center.

Silvia Del Bianco Silvia Del Bianco was born in Argentina in 1958. In 1975, she graduated from the Buenos Aires Conservatory with a degree in piano pegagogy and performance. She completed her academic studies at the Salzburg Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mozarteum, then continued her studies at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, earning her diplôme supérieur in 1987. She was head of the Eurhythmics Department at Bienne’s Conservatory and Dean of the Eurhythmics Department at the Bern University of the Arts from 1988 to 2002.

Since 2006, she has taught eurhythmics and methodology in the Music and Movement Department at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva.As Director of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, she has been particularly interested in encouraging new applications of eurhythmics as well as research projects. She regularly gives workshops and is highly involved in training programs in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

The three training programs created in Latin America in the last fifteen years makes us hopeful that other training programs will emerge, and that a License program will be possible as well.

References

I would like to thank the DSA for this opportunity to promote our work and our vision of Dalcroze Eurhythmics for all of the Americas.

Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of mind : the theory of multiple inteliigences. New York : Basic Books.

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Attinger, V. (1942). Souvenirs, notes et critiques.

Paris: Neuchâtel

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics practice in México

Elda Nelly Treviño Flores (México)

A brief historical overview of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in México in the twentieth century Nearly a hundred years ago, music education practices in México began developing along philosophical lines similar to those of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and his contemporaries in Europe. Among those similarities was the concept of the ideal music educator being someone who believed in music education as a holistic education (Michaca, 1942b). In the 1930s, the National Conservatory of México in México City started a class for children focused on creativity and the development of improvisational and compositional skills.

The classes, named “creación infantil” (children’s creation), were also implemented in general public schools in poor areas of the city (Sandi Meneses, 1930).

By the 1940s, music teachers and researchers had begun reflecting upon the purpose and meaning of music education. Prevalent ideas at that time were those related to kinesthesia, perception through the senses which leads to an understanding defined by representation (memory, imagination), thought (judgment, action), and assimilation (attention, choice, action, and affection) (Michaca, 1942a). Furthermore, music teachers began considering the psychological needs of the person from childhood to adulthood ( Jaso López, 1942), as well as questions of nationalistic ideologies in music-making. The latter question was debated among prominent intellectuals, artists, politicians, and private industrialists during the First National Conference of Music in 1926, held at the Palacio de Minería in Mexico City (Madrid, 2008, p. 140).

The specific practice of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in México may be traced to the late 1960s at the National School of Music (Escuela Nacional de Música), now the Facultad de Música at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

Within the course listing of the children’s program there was a course named “Rhythmic Gymnastics”; however, no details were printed (Escuela Nacional de Música.

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1967, p. 11).

Dalcroze Workshop, Conservatorio de las Rosas, 2015 As far as I know, the person who first introduced Dalcroze Eurhythmics to México is María Luisa Cortinas del Riego, a renowned music professor at UNAM and other institutions and a former student of Robert Abramson. I had the opportunity to take a music education workshop with her in 1995 at the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey. During that workshop, she applied Dalcroze principles to her teaching. She has been active for several decades, mainly in music didactics at UNAM, and gives workshops around the country. Together with professor Patricia Arenas y Barrero, they created the Bachelor of Music Education program at UNAM in 1984 and updated it in 1995 (Gómez, 2001).

Throughout her teaching career, María Luisa Cortinas has been attuned to the ideas of Jaques-Dalcroze. Namely, she is in favor of an active music education which encourages the creativity of children, using improvisation, body movement within a child-centered teaching and learning process, appropriate clothing to facilitate the sessions, and, most importantly, the idea that the younger the student, the more prepared a teacher should be as an active musician with access to greater resources (Cortinas del Riego, 1992).

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics practice in México, continued

María Luisa Cortinas and her predecessors primed México for a more widespread practice of Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the end of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics in México toward the twenty-first century Marta Sánchez’s 1996 visit to Monterrey, Nuevo León, was a landmark in the development of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in México. Through the music store Repertorio Musical del Norte, founded and owned at that time by my grandmother Elda Nelly González Elizondo, Marta came to town to give a workshop related to the Bastien Piano Method, published by the Kjos Music Company. By then, I knew Marta’s name was related to Dalcroze, thanks to a small research project I had done in my piano pedagogy class with Dr. Amanda Vick Lethco (coauthor of the Alfred’s Basic piano series) during my undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Upon my request, Marta kindly gave a eurythmics masterclass after such workshop. That was the first time that a holder of the Diplôme Supérieur had ever taught in México.

After falling in love at first sight with Dalcroze Eurhythmics, I began my training at Carnegie Mellon University (Certificate, 1999; License, 2004), where Marta directed the Dalcroze training center which is now named after her. As a result, I began a systematic advocacy of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in México, Central, and South America.

The first Dalcroze Eurhythmics workshop, held in 2000, was twenty hours long, led by Marta Sánchez in Monterrey, and sponsored by my grandmother’s music store and the Council for Culture and Arts of Nuevo León (CONARTE). This spurred several key events during the next decade which allowed for the birth of the first certification program in Latin America at the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Michoacán, México (2012–2016), as well as the professional Dalcroze training of Latin American musicians at l’Institut JaquesDalcroze in Geneva (IJD). Among such events, the most important happened in Monterrey, where three conferences sponsored mainly by CONARTE (2001, 2002, and 2003), and four international conferences sponsored by the Facultad de Música, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016) took place.

The main emphasis of these conferences, which I had the opportunity to direct, was Dalcroze Pedagogy, although other teaching approaches were also included. Included among the international Dalcroze pedagogues who were guest faculty between 1996 and 2003 were my three main teachers at Carnegie Mellon University: Marta Sánchez, Diplôme Supérieur (1996, 2000); Herbert Henke, Diplôme Supérieur (2001); and Annabelle Joseph, Diplôme Supérieur

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Dalcroze certificate program at the Conservatorio de las Rosas, 2013 (2003, 2014). Moreover, encouraged by Marta Sánchez, I invited Iramar Rodrigues (License) to the conference held in 2003. A native Brazilian, fluent Spanish speaker, and possessed of a charming personality, Iramar won the heart of the people in México and became a regular guest lecturer at several institutions across the country and later on in South America, continuing until the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2011 to 2019, the following national and international Dalcroze teachers were guest faculty at the conferences in Monterrey: Silvia Del Bianco, Diplôme Supérieur (2011, 2012); Pablo Cernik, Diplôme Supérieur (2012); Paul Hille, Diplôme Supérieur (2011, 2012); Ruth Alperson, Diplôme Supérieur (2014); and John Robert Stevenson, Diplôme Supérieur (2014), who, besides teaching, presented his digital interactive book, Pursuing a Jaques-Dalcroze Education.

Other guest faculty have included Ruth Giannada, Diplôme Supérieur (2016); Ana Quilez, License (2012); Stephen Neely, License (2014); Georgina Gómez, Master of Arts in Dalcroze Eurhythmics (2011, 2012); Manuel Zazueta, Master of Arts in Dalcroze Eurhythmics (2011, 2012, 2019); and Cheng-Feng Lin, Diplôme Supérieur (2019).

As the result of the growing interest in Dalcroze Pedagogy in México from 2000 on, in 2012, with the support of Dr. Luis Jaime Cortez Méndez (distinguished composer and intellectual in México, as well as director of the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Michacán) and Silvia Del Bianco (director of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze), the first Dalcroze Certification program in Latin America was created, which lasted from 2012 until 2016. Forty-five musicians from México and various Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Colombia, were able to earn a certificate allowing them to apply the principles of Dalcroze Pedagogy to their professional fields.

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General description of the Dalcroze Certification Program at the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Michoacán (2012–2016) The certification program in México was based on the program in Spain because of similar cultural traits in each country. During the four years of the program at the Conservatorio de las Rosas, the curriculum consisted of coursework in movement, eurhythmics, solfège, improvisation, pedagogy, and plastique animée, all totaling about two hundred hours of classes. Coursework was divided into four modules of fifty hours each.

Pablo Cernik (Argentina) was the Diplômé in charge of the academic area of the Dalcroze certification program in Morelia, while I represented the conservatory coordinating the faculty, students, and facilities. Along with the certification courses, the conservatory offered workshops addressed to the general public, young and old. In addition to Pablo and me, faculty comprised Silvia Del Bianco, Manuel Zazueta, and Georgina Gómez. Guest faculty were Hèlene Nicolet, Diplôme Supérieur and Maite Bilbao, Diplôme Supérieur.

We used the Feldenkrais method for movement; classes were taught by Adriana Ramírez, a Mexican certified specialist who worked with students on body movement, awareness, relaxation, and improvisation.

Because we had many students—particularly in the first two years of the program—the students were divided into groups for improvisation classes based on their technical prowess at the piano.

Preliminary exams were taken at the end of the first year to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the program and to prepare for final exams. Final exams evaluated eurhythmics, improvisation, and pedagogy, which was combined with solfège. For plastique animée, the students divided into teams of six to eight and worked on a final presentation of an

assigned piece of music. The grade was integrated into that of eurhythmics.

We were able to have demonstration eurhythmics classes with children during every module through a collaboration with the Conservatorio de las Rosas, a school with a strong emphasis on music education in their K–8 curriculum. Sadly, though the conservatory made a great effort to host the certification program beyond those four years, it had to be closed due to administrative issues beyond our control.

A few alumni of the certification program in Morelia went on to study at the IJD: Verónica and Maristella Jiménez Quesada from Costa Rica (Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy, Dalcroze Eurhythmics) and María Guadalupe Bernal Cabello, who is currently a student in the aforementioned graduate program. Of note are two other Mexican musicians who have studied at the IJD, Francely Zurita Ruvalcaba (Master in Music Pedagogy, Dalcroze Eurhythmics) and Karen Zúñiga, current student of the graduate program. However, neither of the two earned a Dalcroze certificate at the Conservatorio de las Rosas.

More efforts in favor of Dalcroze Eurhythmics In addition to the work done in Monterrey, the Festival Internacional Cedros Universidad Panamericana at UNAM has played an important role in promoting Dalcroze Pedagogy. Furthermore, besides the aforementioned institutions in this article, others, both public and private, have organized isolated or short-term events for the dissemination of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in México. A few others of higher education in the public sector have integrated Dalcroze Pedagogy tacitly or explicitly into their curricula either at the undergraduate level or as continuing education courses taught by licensed Mexican Dalcroze teachers (Georgina Gómez, Manuel Zazueta, and myself), guest international faculty, and/or certified Mexican musicians who apply the Dalcroze principles into their music-making and teaching.

Dalcroze Workshop. Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey, 2019.

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The following is an incomplete list of these schools: • Escuela Superior de Música in México City • Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México • Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey • Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro • Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León • Universidad de Guadalajara Private institutions in higher music education levels such as Universidad Panamericana, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, campus Ciudad de México, Conservatorio de Celaya Instituto Artene, Música Viva, Instituto Dalcroze México, Dalcroze Mx & Cielito Arte, counted among the Dalcroze faithful.

With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to other countries in the world, music teaching in México had to migrate online, and everyone involved in Dalcroze Eurhythmics has given tremendous effort in applying a basic principle of the philosophy of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze: to adapt to the circumstances, be creative, and continue teaching with the highest standards as we can. Fortunately, a bright light is glowing for Dalcroze Eurhythmics in 2022.

Time, space, and energy renewed for Dalcroze in México Since 2017, I have been teaching Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the School of Fine Arts (Escuela de Bellas Artes) at the Universidad Panamericana (EBA/UP), an important private university in México City (www.up.edu.mx). The school and program is directed by Dr. Gabriel Ruperto Pliego Carrasco, a leading music pedagogue and Suzuki advocate. The EBA/UP has a unique and innovative undergraduate music program, with a strong emphasis on music education integrating Dalcroze Eurhythmics as a core subject, as well as elective Dalcroze courses for other music degree programs.

Beginning in 2020, the EBA/UP has been the home of Programas Dalcroze (eba.up.edu.mx/programas-dalcroze.html), which includes the Dalcroze Certification Program, continuing education courses related to Dalcroze Pedagogy, and research projects on the practice of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in Latin America. Similar to the certification program in Morelia at the Conservatorio de las Rosas, an agreement was signed between l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and the UP in order to follow the guidelines established by the IJD for all the training centers around the world.

The certification program at EBA/UP consists of two hundred thirty hours on site at the Campus México/Mixcoac located in southern Mexico City. It is divided into five modules in a similar structure to that of the certificate in Morelia, but with the addition of thirty hours of classes which include more sessions in the four areas of study, particularly eurhythmics and pedagogy. Moreover, the program is open to any scholars around the world who might be interested in pursuing innovative research practices in collaboration with Programas Dalcroze at EBA/UP.

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Two important aspects to mention about having the EBA/ UP as the home of Programas Dalcroze are: (a) the optimal facilities EBA has within its independent building located next to the México/Mixcoac campus and a beautiful three-building colonial complex built in the eighteenth century century; and (b) the fact that the UP has a strong scholarship fund to help talented students with financial need. The EBA is committed to finding ways to make financial aid accessible to students at Programas Dalcroze.

As part of a distinctive trait of Dalcroze teacher-training practice, we boast a multicultural faculty with the following specialists: Dr. Ma. Eugènia Arús Leita (Diplôme Supérieur, Spain); Dr. Elda Nelly Treviño Flores; Cheng-Feng Lin; Silvia Del Bianco; Francoise Lombard (Canada, Diplôme Supérieur); and Verónica and Maristella Jiménez Quesada.

Currently, we have many challenges to face in México, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Areas of opportunity to grow in music education in México within Dalcroze Eurhythmics pedagogy In my own professional training, teaching experience, and observation in México for almost thirty years, I think the main skills to build in music teaching and music pedagogy are solfège and ear training. Intonation and pitch discrimination eventually lead to better inner hearing, and thus better improvisation skills both vocally and at the piano.

I have seen and experienced a generalized deficiency in solfège and ear training education in México, starting from primary levels through the conservatory and university levels. The wide gulf in socioeconomic backgrounds, which contributes to uneven childhood education, impacts students negatively in the acquisition of solfège and ear training skills at the conservatory and undergraduate levels. Moreover, nowadays there is no standardization in curriculum-building in these subjects by the faculty who teach them throughout the country. Depending on the institution and its geographical area, the approach to solfège and ear training varies a great deal, both in course content and in the credentials of the faculty (Valenzuela, 2001).

In addition to these differences just mentioned, body movement is rarely incorporated in either solfège or ear training courses. For this reason, I am convinced that the more music teachers who have Dalcroze Education in México, the better, more expressive musicians we will have in the future, no matter which area of specialty they choose. Furthermore, early music experiences for children to adults would also be more enjoyable and enriching.

Besides the musical challenges themselves, we also have the opportunity to strengthen bonds with colleagues from North American and Latin American countries on behalf of a better Dalcroze Eurhythmics practice throughout the entire American continent.

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References Cortinas del Riego, M. (Enero-Junio de 1992). La música que crean los niños (The music that children create). Heterofonía, 106, 4-7.

Escuela Nacional de Música. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

(1967). Organización Académica. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Gómez, M. (2001). Mesa 9. Retos y responsabilidades. En Primer foro sobre la misión de la Escuela Nacional de Müsica. Memoria: El proyecto cltural de la UNAM (págs. 142-43). México: Escuela Nacional de Música. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Jaso López, E. (1o de Octubre de 1942). Influencia de la música en el desarrollo del espíritu infantil. Orientación Musical. Revista Mensual, 2(16), 2-3.

Madrid, A. L. (2008). Los sonidos de la nación moderna. Música, cultura e ideas en el México posrevolucionario 1920-1930. La Habana: Fondo Editorial Casa de las Américas.

Michaca, P. (1o de Febrero de 1942a). La Educación Musical y su Concepto Integral (Music Education and its Integral Concept). Orientación Musical, 1(8), 3-5.

Michaca, P. (1o de Marzo de 1942b). La Educación Musical y su Concepto Integral. Orientación Musical. Revista Mensual, 2-5.

Sandi Meneses, L. (15 de Octubre de 1930). Creación musical entre los niños (Musical creation among children). Música. Revista Mexicana, 2(1), 8-11.

Valenzuela, M.A. (2001). Reflexiones en torno a las asignaturas de Solfeo y Entrenamiento Auditivo en la Escuela Nacional de Música. Cuadernos Interamericanos de Investigación en Educación Musical, 1 (1), 79-101.

Elda Nelly Treviño Flores Dr. Treviño is a professor at the Facultad de Música of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, professor and coordinator of Programas Dalcroze at Universidad Panamericana, and director of the independent studio Música Viva in México.

She offers workshops and lectures throughout Mexico and abroad. As a pianist, she has performed as a soloist with the UANL Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of Matanzas, and the Symphony Orchestra of Santiago in Cuba. She is also active as a collaborative pianist. From 2012 to 2016, Elda Nelly served as coordinator for the Mexican Dalcroze Certification Program at the Conservatorio de las Rosas.

She graduated summa cum laude from the UANL with a PhD in psychology, holds a bachelor’s and master’s in piano literature and pedagogy from the University of Texas at Austin, and earned her Dalcroze certificate and license from Carnegie Mellon University. She is the representative of the International Federation of Rhythmics Teachers in México and is a member of the publications committee of the Dalcroze Society of America.

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Argentine Republic: its introduction and the history of professional artistic education from 1938 to the present Lilia Beatriz Sánchez (Argentina)

The roots of eurhythmics in Argentina: Madame Sirouyan Professor Lía Nercessian de Sirouyan arrived in Buenos Aires in 19381. Since then, the discipline of eurhythmics has had a journey of many ups and downs, and the furthering of eurhythmics education continues to this day.

Many generations of musicians, actors, dancers, and teachers were trained in her classes. To her, we owe the solid foundation of eurhythmics in Argentina which, despite the turbulence of the country’s political-educational history and the void her departure left us, is presently growing. 2

Lía Nercessian de Sirouyan began eurhythmics classes at an early age. 2 These experiences marked her: she began her professional training in Paris, where she met “Monsieur Jaques,” who advised her to move to l’Institute Jaques Dalcroze in Geneva (IJD) to obtain the international certificate.

While there, she obtained the second prize in Plastique Animée (Von Brunow, 1978).

Letter from Jaques-Dalcroze to Madame in Paris, 1931.

AjdAR Archives

Professional courses 19291930. Geneva.

In the photo, E. JaquesDalcroze, Lía Nercessian de Sirouyan and Frank Martin.

Letter from Jaques-Dalcroze to Madame in Buenos Aires, 1943. AjdAR

Original in possession of her family.

Archives

Despite the physical distance, Professor Sirouyan kept a correspondence with her teacher, who appreciated and recognized the work that had first been carried out in Paris, then later in Argentina.

Sirouyan’s foreign accent, talent, and austere elegance earned her the respectful nickname of “Madame” among colleagues and students during her long years of activity, until her death in 2002.

1

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She accompanied her husband Ashot Artzuní, an Armenian journalist, historian, and author of History of the Armenian People.

2

Born in 1908 in Baku, in present-day Azerbaijan, of Russian nationality and Armenian ethnicity, she had her first contact with eurhythmics as a child in her native city, in the classes taught by teachers coming from the Eurhythmics School of Moscow. After surviving the pogroms with her family, they went into exile in Europe where, at the age of twelve, she took eurhythmics classes for two years in a boarding school for children in London. (Sirouyan, 1991)

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Protohistory3 (1938 to 1940) While in Buenos Aires, Sirouyan began giving private lessons to members of Swiss families who were familiar with eurhythmics. She was quickly asked to spread the method via radio programs and conferences in private and official institutions, among them the Escuela Normal Nacional Nº1 de Maestros. Though she was fluent in several languages, Spanish was not one of them. Nevertheless, Sirouyan asked to be provided with a small group of pupils and “thus be able to explain live and with that wonderful universal language that is music, the values of the Method” (Sirouyan, 1970).

The comments on the excellence of her classes reached the ears of the authorities, and from then on, she was a frequent lecturer and clinician in educational establishments and cultural circles, thus earning the respect and admiration of the Argentine artistic and pedagogical community.4

pedagogy, and psychomotor skills: Juan Francisco Giacobbe and Mercedes Pilar Torres.6 But things became more difficult. “. . . as we all know, the official sphere arrives late and limping because it moves entangled in its own bureaucratic obstacles… it was necessary to fight with the ‘rhinoceros’ and the creation of Ionesco appeared to us many times on the way.” 7 (Sirouyan, 1970).

During a time when “talking about rhythm, spontaneity, or expressive freedom in students was to be branded as utopian, maniac or revolutionary” (Sirouyan, 1970), Giacobbe and Torres paved the way for eurhythmics to enter official institutions, mainly for the training of music teachers. They also worked with the Ministry of Education to grant scholarships to students selected to study at the IJD. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Second World War left these projects unfinished.

The official history From 1940 onward, Sirouyan developed eurhythmics programs in public schools with the endorsement of the official educational administration in Buenos Aires and other cities in Argentina. At the same time, she continued with her classes in the Eurhythmics School, which by then was already enjoying great prestige in the Argentine cultural environment.

It was in this school that Noemí Lapzeson, an Argentinian dancer and internationally renowned choreographer, began her training.8

6

Juan Francisco Giacobbe, National Music Prize winner, Rome Music Prize winner, Director of Culture in the Provinces of Córdoba and Buenos Aires, Director of the Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts, Director of the Cervantes National Theater, and Director of the Municipal Orchestra, among other varied positions.

Mercedes Pilar Torres, Director of Psychology and School Social Assistance of the Province of Buenos Aires, Inspector of Differentiated Pedagogy at the National Directorate of School Health, Regent of Studies at the Universidad del Salvador, Advisor of Television Didactics at the National Council of Technical Education. Awarded the Ateneo Iberoamericano, Martín Fierro and National Academy of Sciences prizes, author of numerous publications on eurhythmics, among them “Los ritmos y el hombre” (1945), translator of an unpublished version of Dalcroze’s “Le Rythme, la musique et l’éducation”.

7

Madame’s words allude to the need to resist and fight for one’s own values, facing conformism and the submission of the common citizen to power, which are the themes of Eugene Ionesco’s play, Rhinoceros.

8

Noemí Lapzeson trained as a dancer in Argentina in Ana Itelman’s dance group and at the Julliard School in New York. She was a teacher and soloist in the Martha Graham Company. Later, based in Geneva, she developed a great career as a teacher, dancer, and choreographer in several Swiss institutions, among them the IJD. She was the creator of the Vertical Dance Company. She received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix Suisse à la Danse 2017.

Madame teaching in a kindergarten. AjdAR Archives That same year, in the private sphere, she created a kindergarten course and founded the Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics School, where she went on to develop intensive courses for children and adults and train the first Argentinian Dalcroze teachers5.

Among government officials, she found two fervent admirers of eurhythmics who were dedicated to spreading the theory of musical rhythm and its importance in psychology, 3

This is how Prof. Sirouyan called it in the opening speech of the First Latin American Congress of Euthythmics Jaques-Dalcroze in Bs. As. (Sirouyan, 1970)

4

“When I arrived in Buenos Aires, I began to make my method known . . . a very long way, but here I no longer felt like a foreigner as everywhere else in Europe, because here everybody was; and that allowed me to act with more freedom.” (Sirouyan, 1991)

5

Bogna Nadolsky, also a student of the Geneva Institute, collaborated in this school as improvisation teacher.

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Argentine Republic, continued

Open class of the Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics School, 1948.

AjdAR Archives

In 1944, Athos Palma, Inspector General of Music, designed a eurhythmics program for kindergartens and elementary schools up to the third grade, but it was never implemented because of a shortage of specialized teachers.9 In 1948, Torres created the First Experimental Group of Therapeutic Pedagogy of the National Council of Education at the Children’s Neuropsychiatric Institute. There, a three-year teacher training course in special education was taught, and eurhythmics was used in sensory-motor education.

The late 1940s and beyond saw Madame and the teachers she trained teaching numerous eurhythmics classes in primary schools, special schools for Deaf and blind children, folk dance schools, the Vocational Institute of Children’s Art, the Conservatory of Music of the Province of Buenos Aires, the Conservatory of Dramatic Art of Buenos Aires, the School of Theater of La Plata, the National School of Dance, the Center for Research, Experimentation and Study of Dance, and the Higher Institute of Art of the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires.

So great was the recognition of eurhythmics that in 1965, the Eurhythmics School, in conjunction with the Argentine Center of Psychopedagogy and the Swiss embassy, held a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Jaques-Dalcroze. It was attended by representatives of Argentine culture and the Swiss ambassador and was reported on in the news media of the time.

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14

Athos Palma, a great Argentine musician, teacher, and composer, author of treatises on music theory and harmony, among other works. In this project, he had the collaboration of the Catalan composer Montserrat Campmany, a student of Llongueras in Barcelona.

Program of Plastique Animée at the Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics School, with a young Noemí Lapzeson listed as performer and choreographer. AjdAR Archives

The first and only Latin American Congress of the JaquesDalcroze Method took place in 1970 under the patronage of the Argentine Society of Music Education, with the participation of teachers from South America, the United States, and Europe.

In that same decade, eurhythmics was added to the curriculum of the first children’s Public School of Music in Buenos Aires. From then to the ’90s, many more Public Schools of Music were created; eurhythmics is still taught today. These schools not only fulfill the objective of providing musical education, but also function as important community centers, as some of them are located in the poorest areas of the city.10 10 The first official music schools in the City of Buenos Aires were created in 1946 by musician Athos Palma, with the aim of providing musical training to children from the age of five. Many of these students later continued their musical education in higher and professional institutions.

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First Latinamerican Congress of Eurhythmics, 1970. AjdAR Archives All these achievements were the result of Sirouyan’s efforts throughout the years. On several occasions, she obtained the support of educational authorities for her projects, but changes in government stalled each initiative.

It should also be noted that political stability in Argentina was difficult to achieve between 1938 and 1983, when democracy was restored. During those forty-five years, Argentina was governed by a number of dictators and juntas who ruled with absolutist criteria to exercise control over society and, consequently, education. Could the Dalcrozian spirit be of interest to this type of government?

Cover of the Program for the Commemoration of the Birth of Jaques Dalcroze, 1965. AjdAR Archives

Of special mention are two institutions in which eurhythmics had and has an important place: the current Department of Dramatic Arts and the Department of Musical and Sound Arts of the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA).11

11 At its creation in late 1996, seven prestigious tertiary and higher art institutions—the Carlos López Buchardo National Superior Conservatory of Music, the Prilidiano Pueyrredón National School of Fine Arts, the Ernesto de la Cárcova National Superior School of Fine Arts, the Antonio Cunill Cabanellas National Superior School of Dramatic Arts, the National Superior Institute of Dance and the National Superior Institute of Folklore—joined together to give life to what was then called the Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte. In 2014, recognizing the disciplinary diversity that converged in the IUNA and its growth during the first eighteen years, the National Congress changed by law its name to the National University of the Arts.

Translation of the text from the University’s web site https://una.edu.ar/contenidos/historia_12263

Jaques-Dalcroze´s Esquisse. Commemoration of the Birth of Jaques-Dalcroze, 1965. AjdAR Archives

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Argentine Republic, continued

The Department of Dramatic Arts of the UNA In 1951, Professor Giacobbe, then-director of the National Conservatory of Music and Performing Art of Buenos Aires, officially inserted eurhythmics into the curricula of the most prestigious acting training institution in Argentina. The director of the theater program, Antonio Cunill Cabanellas12, introduced Gymnastique Rythmique and Sirouyan in a fervent speech that demonstrated his knowledge and admiration for the discipline. hink that this education through rhythm and into rhythm is T an education… to make you plastic and rhythmic actors and actresses, masters of the word and of movement… art does not consist only in the externalization of one’s own rhythm; in particular, the performing arts are the incarnation of some “not-self”… Think only of these two ideas, the core of Dalcroze’s method: revelation… of your own rhythm; capturing… of the rhythm of others and you will understand that it is a whole education for art and for life (Cunill Cabanellas, 1951).

When I joined this conservatory as a teacher in 1985, eurhythmics had four progressive levels. With the successive changes of career-building courses and study plans, and since its transformation into the current Department of Dramatic Arts, it has been increasingly difficult to convince others of the importance and centrality of eurhythmics in an actor’s skill set as taught in a university setting.

To state the importance of eurythmics in acting training would necessitate a separate article. Today, instead of four levels, there remain only two, and I must testify that the greatest defense of the subject in this institution has been raised by its students of yesterday and today. They are the ones who have best understood Dalcroze’s words: urhythmics is first and foremost and only a personal E experience… He who witnesses the movement cannot understand the full extent of it if he has not experienced it himself… because the movement addresses itself to the senses of the one who executes it or to the memory of the one who has produced it… only practice can demonstrate the very nature of these exercises ( Jaques-Dalcroze, 1910).

Historically, eurhythmics has contributed and continues to contribute to the formation of generations of artists on the Argentine scene, many of who are nationally and internationally recognized.13,14 12 Antonio Cunill Cabanellas was a Catalan actor and theater director. He was a recognized figure of the Argentine theater, connoisseur of the work of Llongueras in Barcelona and of Prince Wolkonky and Stanislavsky in Russia in relation to Jaques-Dalcroze, his eurhythmics, and the concept of temporhythm in theater. The historical National Conservatory of Dramatic Art and current Department of Dramatic Arts are named after him.

13 Eurhythmics is such a part of the identity of this institution that new chairs have been created for the subject in other higher acting training courses at the private level, such as in the National University of Salvador and the Center for Cinematographic Research, where I have taught the subject for several years.

14 Madame Sirouyan’s more successful students include actors and actresses such as Antonio Gasalla, Ana Marìa Picchio, Leonor Benedetto, Susú Pecoraro, Cecilia Rossetto, Jorge Marrale, Luis Brandoni, Roberto Carnaghi, Héctor Da Rosa, Helena Tritek, Edgardo Moreira, and many others who are well known in the Spanish-speaking world of theater and cinema.

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“The crisis is here.” My theater students and their positive energy in the face of adversity.

The Department of Musical and Sound Arts of the UNA One of the greatest impediments to the growth of eurhythmics in Argentina was the shortage of specialized teachers in the discipline. The number of teachers trained at Madame’s private school was insufficient to meet demand at the spaces created to accommodate musical and theatrical training, and this resulted in the disappearance of many programs.

Furthermore, there were many uncertified teachers, as well as copycats. Sirouyan, however, remained steadfast in her goals: to train Dalcroze educators, and to drive out the imitators.

In 1983, Madame succeeded in opening the first two-year professional course at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires, with the approval of the then-Rector Julio Fainguersch.15 The response of those interested, myself included, was excellent, and it reaffirmed the openness of the country’s professionals to humanistic and innovative approaches to music teaching.

This course included five areas: eurhythmics, improvisation, body technique (not necessarily modern dance, but rather movement classes taught by teachers with professional body training, including dance), psychomotricity, didactics (pedagogy discussions), and pedagogical practices. Two classes were created for children to allow us weekly practice in planning, teaching, and evaluation, all under Madame’s guidance.

15 Julio Fainguersch: musician, teacher, and choir conductor. In addition to being Rector of the Conservatory, he was director of the Coro Polifònico Nacional and the Coro Estable del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Argentine Republic, continued

This course continued until 1987, when Madame achieved an even greater goal in the National Conservatory: the JaquesDalcroze Eurhythmics Higher Teacher Training, giving us the possibility of a more intensive training for those who had completed the first certification. This credential refers to the creation of the first and only higher-level Dalcroze training that existed at the National Conservatory of Music from 1987 until its closure at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

The syllabus of the course was set by Madame Sirouyan and her team of teachers. The course was intended for the exclusive training of eurhythmics teachers. I am a graduate of the first cohort of that course, and years later, I succeeded Madame in teaching eurhythmics and didactics after she retired at an old age. However, the certificate granted by the National Conservatory of Music of Buenos Aires was not recognized by IJD in Geneva.

Over the three-year course of study, solfège, eutonia16, and rhythm theory were added to the curriculum. Those first courses with children grew into an “Application Department” and training ground for teachers, and grew to more than three hundred students from four to thirteen years old.

They took eurhythmics/pre-solfège (four- and five-year-olds) and then eurhythmics/solfège along with study of a musical instrument (six–year-olds and beyond).17 The requirements for admission to a teaching career in eurhythmics, the extensive course load, and the high demands of studying and practice contributed to the rigor with which Madame expected her future teachers to apply themselves to their studies. But these factors were also the program’s Achilles’ heel. The realities of Argentine socioeconomics had conditioned most of the students to work long hours and continue training at night, with great effort. Few of us were able to complete this course of study.

There were also few opportunities to train with foreign teachers, although there were valuable visits from Iramar Rodrigues and Silvia Del Bianco. In addition, a single delegation of six Argentine Dalcroze teachers to the 1995 Geneva Congress allowed us to learn about eurhythmics teaching at an international level.

16 Eutonia (from the Greek ¨eu¨: good, just, harmonious; and ¨tonus¨: tone, tension): transdisciplinary body discipline created by Gerda Alexander in 1959, which considers the body as the fundamental basis of being and as the center of experience. It focuses on achieving the harmonious balance of tonicity in constant adaptation to the activity and actions of people.

17 During the two years of teaching practice, we taught weekly classes at various levels. Once we graduated, we were in charge of the courses as teachers. Today, many of these children are part of the artistic community of Argentine musicians and actors.

My theater students during the pandemic When the Conservatory closed its doors in the twenty-first century, the implementation of the new university degree programs as replacements for the Conservatory’s programs dealt a hard blow to the small Dalcrozian community and especially to Madame. The National Commission of University Accreditation did not approve the continuation of the degree course, and the Higher Teacher Training and its Application Department were closed.18

Intermezzo During the last years of the program at the Conservatory, Madame had delegated the teaching of eurhythmics to me.

The graduation of the last cohort of students and Madame’s passing in 2002 was the closing of a chapter of eurhythmics history in Argentina. What began after was a period of solitary work from teachers trying to continue the mission to the best of their ability and sustaining the spaces gained over so many years: schools and conservatories of music, dance, and theater and public and private schools of general education at various levels.

But the foundations were firm and the seed did not take long to bear one of its best fruits. Pablo Cernik, a graduate of the last cohort of that Higher Teacher Training, fulfilled a dream long held by Madame: that a student who graduated from her program would be trained at the IJD and receive the diplôme supérieur.

And then, the history of eurhythmics in Argentina was reborn.

There was hope for the future.

18 With the creation of the National Institute of the Arts, the institution was divided in two: the professional training remained in the national university environment and the National Commission of University Accreditation did not approve its continuity as a degree course. The Department of Application for Children was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires, thus being isolated from the professional training that gave rise to it, which resulted in its definitive closure a short time later, as it was not integrated to any institution of that Ministry.

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Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Argentine Republic, continued

The present and the future

Madame was always present at the open classes of the Application Department, 1988.

In 2013, Pablo Cernik returned to Argentina and began teaching at the national level in Buenos Aires and other cities, spreading the discipline and opening new opportunities in official and private institutions for the training of music teachers.

Finally, in 2017, under his direction and with the approval of the Dean of the Department of Musical and Sound Arts of the UNA, Lic. Cristina Vázques, and the Academic Council, he started the first Postgraduate Course in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, whose certificate is the first in our country that has the official recognition of the IJD in Geneva, and of which I have the great honor to be part of. The Postgraduate Course has a duration of three semesters. The first cohort, graduated in mid2018, had about twenty students, all senior professors of music specialties from different regions of the country. The seminars that make up the curriculum were taken intensively three days a month. Eurhythmics and improvisation were studied in all monthly meetings, combined with other subjects in the curriculum, such as Plastique Animée, ear training, movement, and others.

The second cohort, started in 2019, has not yet been able to finish because of the pandemic limiting the ability to be in person.

Nowadays, new professionals have the possibility of attending high-level training, with access to Spanishspeaking Diplômates of great prestige: Silvia Del Bianco and María Eugenia Arús Leita. Thus begins a new chapter in the history of eurhythmics in Argentina that, for the first time, transcends the limits of our country and joins us to the Dalcrozian community of Latin America and the world.

Lilia Beatriz Sánchez

References Cunill Cabanellas, A. (1951) Conference at the Conservatorio Nacional de Arte Dramático. Not published. Original held by Asociación Jaques-Dalcroze Argentina.

Del Bianco, S. (2006). Promouvoir et développer…l´actualité de la rythmique dans le monde. Mouvements 6(1), 2.

Jaques-Dalcroze, E. (1910). L´éducation par le rythme et pour le rythme. Le Rythme 1910, 19-31.

Sirouyan, L. (1970). Opening conference of the First Latin American Congress of Eurhythmics in Buenos Aires. Not published. Original held by Asociación Jaques-Dalcroze Argentina.

Sirouyan, L. (1991). Letter to Mme. Misolette Bablet, from the Institute Jaques Dalcroze in Geneva. Not published. Original held by Asociación Jaques-Dalcroze Argentina.

Von Brunow, B. (1978). Lía Sirouyan y la Rítmica musical.

Diario Armenia, 3.

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Postgraduate Course students, 2017 in one of my classes

Lilia Beatriz Sánchez graduated from the National Conservatory of Music of Buenos Aires and holds a degree in musical arts from the National University of the Arts (UNA). She has studied composition at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla and has taught music education (kindergarten, elementary, special and artistic) for over thirty years. She teaches piano, ear training, and eurhythmics for children and is engaged in the professional artistic training of musicians, dancers, and actors in public and private institutions.

She is currently a professor of music at the National Teacher Training Schools, a professor of eurhythmics in the UNA Department of Dramatic Arts, the coordinator of the Music and Body Program in the UNA Department of Musical and Sound Arts, and is in the Postgraduate Course in Dalcroze Eurhythmics under Pablo Cernik.

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The Dalcroze School of the Rockies now in Dallas, TX & Denver, CO!

Professional Studies Program Begin your journey to the Dalcroze Professional Certificate or License today; in-person & online courses are available!

Courses throughout the Academic Year Summer Dalcroze Academy Program Highlights Joyful learning with a focus on excellence Student-centered instruction, lessons, handouts, and repertoire Experiential concepts for musicians, dancers, and therapists Somatic learning improves performance practice Comprehensive textbooks for true mastery

For more info, visit www.dalcrozeschooloftherockies.com!

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Registration opens October 1 at DALCROZEUSA.ORG/CONFERENCE

d gether!

Tod

Baldwin Wallace University Community Arts School Berea, OH • January 14–16, 2022

Explore music and movement over three days of interactive sessions in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, solfège, improvisation, and more.

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January 14-16, 2022 • Baldwin Wallace University • Berea, OH

2022 Schedule January 24 9pm EST Meet-Up #37 February 5 9pm EST Masterclass #20 February 7 2pm EST Meet-Up #38

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The Virtual Dalcroze Meet-up is an independent international forum for Dalcroze educators to share best practices in online teaching spaces.

Participation is open to anyone.

February 28 9pm EST Meet-Up #39 March 14

2pm EST Meet-Up #40

March 19

2pm EST Masterclass #21

REGISTER AND FIND LATEST CLASS DESCRIPTIONS AT

March 28

9pm EST Meet-Up #41

VIRTUALDALCROZE.ORG

April 11

2pm EST Meet-Up #42

April 23

9pm EST Masterclass #22

DALCROZE CONNECTIONS • WINTER 2021 VOL.6, NO.1 • WWW.DALCROZEUSA.ORG • LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1 (ENGLISH)

DALCROZE PROGR AMS

MEXICO CIT Y

“Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a music pedagogy which explores the natural relationship between body movement and music enhancing the artistic potential of the person” Silvia del Bianco, Director

Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Switzerland

MULTICULTURAL FACULTY Dr. Elda Nelly Treviño Flores

México. License. General Coordinator

Dr. Ma. Eugènia Arús Leita

Spain. Diplôme. Supérieur Academic Coordinator

Cheng-Feng Lin

Canada. Diplôme Supérieur.

Silvia del Bianco

Argentina-Switzerland. Diplôme Supérieur.

Françoise Lombard

Canada. Diplôme Supérieur.

Verónica Jiménez Quesada

Costa Rica. Master of Arts in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, IJD.

Maristella Jiménez Quesada,

Costa Rica. Master of Arts in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, IJD.

dalcroze.indd 1

CERTIFICATION 230 hrs in person divided in 5 intensive modules Workshops, lectures, research projects, and more (in person and online) Starting in January, 2022 in person

Visit our website for detailed information and calendar:

eba.up.edu.mx/programas-dalcroze.html

Contact: etrevinof@up.edu.mx

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14/10/2021 11:47:59 a. m.

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PHOTO: David Zavaleta

Application of Dalcroze pedagogy in an intercultural context: the case of Bolivia Karen Pérez Vila (Bolivia) Bolivia is a country located in the heart of South America.

It is culturally diverse, so much so that Article 5 of the State Constitution (CPE, 2009, p. 2) recognizes thirty-six official languages. Each ethnic group has its own cultural characteristics. Common to all of them: music.

These native peoples have passed their music from generation to generation through an oral transmission mechanism in such a natural way that adults and children of multiple generations could find themselves playing a pinkillada1 or a chovena2 at town festivities without having studied these genres methodically and rigorously. Socially, this music is closely related to dance and events that occur in nature: the productive cycle of the earth, rains, harvests, etc. In the rainy season, they play whistlemouthpiece and single-reed instruments such as tarkas and mohoceños, respectively. On the other hand, in the dry season, bevel instruments3 such as sikus, a type of pan flute, are played (Paye, 2000, p. 1).

Around 19524, as a product of the search for a single national identity, the dissemination of non-Spanish cultural heritages and languages was discouraged. It should be noted that music in Bolivia comes from two main sources: pre- and post-Spaniard colonization periods5. Before colonization, the music of native cultures was predominant, with non-standard tunings for wind and percussion instruments, usage of pentatonic scales, performances in large groups, and ritual music (Rosso, 2010, p. 1). These practices have, in spite of colonization, spread in certain urban social groups through the process of métissage (Sigl and Mendoza, 2012, p. 197), as is the case of the sicureada, a musical form performed with sikus.

The pinkillada is a musical and dance form, typical of the Bolivian highlands, belonging to the departments of La Paz, Oruro, and Potosí. (Sigl and Mendoza 2012, p. 660)

2

The chovena is a musical and dance form, typical of eastern Bolivia or the tropical zone (Sigl and Mendoza, 2012, p. 749).

3

It is said that a musical instrument vibrates by bevel when sound is generated by the vibration of expelled or blown air as it hits a sharp, rigid edge or piece called a bevel.

4

“The Chaco War and the 1952 Revolution gave rise to revolutionary nationalism, a movement which sought to affirm the mestizo as the Bolivian national identity.” (Moreno, Vargas & Osorio, 2014, p. 47)

5

With the arrival of the Spanish, “criolla” music was invented. String, wind, and brass instruments were used to create music with half-tones, mixing it with original Bolivian music, which was called folkloric music.

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PHOTO: David Mercado

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Application of Dalcroze pedagogy in an intercultural context: the case of Bolivia, continued

Sikus and the sikuriada or sicureada

Music education in Bolivia today

Sikus are common wind instruments from the Bolivian highlands and other South American countries, made of reed pipes of different lengths. They are handcrafted in many sizes and tunings, depending on the region where they come from, and the pipes are grouped in two rows.

One aim of the National Education Programs in Bolivia (Ministerio de Educación de Bolivia, 2014, p. 17), a current program, is to teach ancestral cultures at schools, but the program does not provide pedagogical resources to meet its objective. That is why teachers have adapted methods such as figured notation, imitation and repetition, and others to teach native instruments and native musical forms.

In rural areas, there are many musical forms played with sikus, which follow the strict rules of each community.

For example, one community may dictate that only men can play the instruments, while women do the choreography. Or that sikus only can be played during the Awti Pacha6. The community elders say that if you play an instrument that is not allowed during the Awti Pacha, the rains will come, and if you play the siku during the Jallu Pacha, the wind and frost will come, affecting the harvest.

The melodies played with sikus are played in a complementary, call-and-response way. That is, while a group or troop of musicians only plays the notes of one of the siku rows (call), the other group plays the corresponding notes to complement the melody, using the other row of tubes (response). This responds to the principle of complementarity that we find in Andean philosophy7.

In an urban situation, we find three sizes of the siku: the zanca, which is the largest and the lowest in pitch; the malta, medium; and the chulis, the small one with the highest pitch. The tubes are grouped in two rows and are arranged in thirds, one next to the other, forming a natural minor scale between the two rows. Women in the city can also be part of the group of musicians, unlike in a traditional rural situation. In urban centers, the sicureada is also played in a call-and-response manner, but in contrast to traditional rules, it can be performed at any time of the year. (Sigl, 2012)

6

Awti Pacha means “dry season,” a time with no rain between September and December. Jallu Pacha, “rain season,” occurs between December and March and is considered time of fertility and abundance (van den Berg, 2005).

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The principles of the Andean philosophy are reciprocity, which is the mutual provision of services or exchange of goods; correspondence, by which one must always return favors received from others or the community; and finally, complementarity, which preaches that opposites should not fight each other but complement each other. They are opposites, but not rivals (Campohermoso and Soliz, 2015).

The Bolivian curriculum for music education could be improved in the sequencing of content and the content itself by including Western music theory, as well as the native music of Bolivia.

In the last year, the education system suffered despite efforts, because it was not possible to replicate live classes over the internet, especially in areas of Bolivia that have suboptimal connectivity.

First assessable Dalcroze experience in La Paz, Bolivia In Bolivia, there is no training center for Dalcroze Education, but as a student at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies, I have been applying the tools learned during the last year with students from first to sixth grade at the Utasawa School in La Paz, Bolivia, where I teach music.

In addition to regular classes, the Utasawa School has a Rhythm Club, which comprises six children between ten and twelve years old. It is with this group that we took on the challenge of a thorough Dalcrozian experience.

I chose to teach the sicureada to the children of the Rhythmic Club. Of these children, born in an urban environment, only one had a history of having been in direct contact with the sicureada. Before starting Dalcroze classes, five of the children did not know the form or structure of the sicureada, and had not played a siku before. But they all had experience moving, walking, and clapping rhythms, which had been taught in regular music classes.

The sicureada is characterized by the abundance of syncopations, rhythmic cells derived from the cuartina8 , a natural minor scale, and a circular or rotating form: ABABAB (repeated). A group of six to sixteen musicians are guided by a leader playing the bombo, a percussion instrument. This leader decides when to end the sicureada. He starts to accelerate the tempo, and the rest of the group knows immediately that the next set will be the last.

8

In many Spanish-speaking countries, the cuartina is known as a group of four rhythmic notes—eighth or sixteenth notes—and its rhythmic derivations are the gallop, inverted gallop, syncopation, and skip.

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Application of Dalcroze pedagogy in an intercultural context: the case of Bolivia, continued

The sicureada is played in a call-and-response fashion, where chulis, maltas, and zancas call and the other chulis, maltas, and zancas respond. The malta, the medium-sized siku, is used to best fit the average lung capacity of children this age.

For cultural context, the teacher spoke about the history of the instrument and its playing technique, its relationship with the cycles of the earth, and other characteristics of the sicureada.

On the practical side, the teacher taught four sessions at ninety minutes apiece. Each lesson included fifteen minutes of warming up, with improvised movement, shallow and deep breathing, and relaxation accompanied by recorded music or improvised music on the piano or guitar.

Movements were first modeled by the teacher, then the children took turns modeling their own movements.

“two or more elements that are exactly the same occur at the same time” (Dittus, 2018, p. 37). In this case, the low note is played and a step is taken at the same time, and after, the high note corresponds with the clap.

Afterward, the teacher improvised phrases using the cuartina (four sixteenths) and its derivatives, which are rhythmic figures quite common in the musical lexicon.

Improvised melodies were played to the rhythm of the song. Students proceeded to walk the rhythms, alternating steps with gestures in the air, claps, or pencil strokes. Rhythmic words related to sounds were also used: ligerito for the cuartina, péscame for the galopa, detengo for the síncopa, and ya me fui for the salto inverso.

This was especially useful for generating movements.

Every two phrases, rhythmic cells changed, and students had to change their movements accordingly. This showed the active listening that they were practicing at that time.

PHOTO: Nayra Cardozo

During this experience, it could be seen that little by little, the children were learning the material, feeling more and more comfortable and relaxed and, at the end, fearlessly proposing movements or variations of the proposed exercises.

After each exercise, the children were asked about their feelings. They described joy and difficulty with changing from one rhythmic cell to the other, and that repetition helped them practice.

Finally, the rhythm of the chosen song, “Muchachita, flor hermosa”, a typical song from the Andean Highlands, was used as an exercise for complementary rhythm. Students had to walk and clap while saying the rhythmic words too. In the next step, they had to say a funny phrase that included their names, which made the exercise more dynamic.

The experiential activity was transferred to the board, where the children understood and were able to write the movement dictation of cuartina derivatives. In case of any doubt, the movements were repeated with some variation, and then returned to the board. An other exercise was the piano dictation.

Complementary rhythm games were used to teach the rhythms of the sicureada. Initially, phrases were played and sung only in eighth notes. The first note was played in a low register and the second one in a high register. Students had to walk the first eighth note and clap the second one, which would correspond to an association strategy, understood as

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After having concluded that stage, the teacher switched to wind instruments. The melody of both rows was recorded separately by the teacher and sent to the children. This was done, obviously, due to the audio delay in the virtual class. If it had been in-person classes, the children would have been divided into two groups, one of which would play the top row and the other, the bottom row. With recorded audio, if they wanted to play the top row, they had to listen to the audio from the bottom row, and if they wanted to play the bottom row, they listened to the audio from the top row. The goal, either way, was to feel the call and response.

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Application of Dalcroze pedagogy in an intercultural context: the case of Bolivia, continued

PHOTO: Nayra Cardozo

References Berg, Hans van den (1990). “La tierra no da así no más” (3a. ed.). La Paz: HISBOL, 2005 Campohermoso Rodríguez, Omar Félix, Soliz Soliz, Ruddy, & Campohermoso Rodríguez, Omar. (2015). Lógica Aimara Trivalente Y Cosmovisión Andina. Cuadernos Hospital de Clínicas, 56(2), 89-97. Recuperado en 23 de abril de 2021, de http://www.scielo.org.bo/scielo.php?script=sci_ arttext&pid=S1652-67762015000200019 Constitución Política del Estado Boliviano. Artículo 5.1 Promulgada el 7 de febrero de 2009. Vigente. Available in: https://www.oas.org/dil/esp/constitucion_bolivia.pdf Crespial (2012). Ensayo sobre la música aymara en Bolivia. Available in: https://crespial.org/wp-content/ uploads/2016/10/Ensayo-musica-aymara-Bolivia.pdf

Results The children involved in this experience learned the rhythm of the sicureada. At the end of the experience they recorded two videos, with one group playing the upper row of tubes and the other one playing the lower row. The group overall was excited about learning something new and especially about the way this activity was carried out.

Space was a limitation for doing more and varied exercises, but the children adapted very well to the activity.

The exercises were very simple because of the experience of the teacher, but the students learned about the sicureada, felt the syncopated rhythm with their bodies, got experience playing the siku, and had fun while doing it.

Conclusions Dalcroze pedagogy was utilized in a satisfactory way to teach the sicureada, a traditional musical form of the highlands of Bolivia, not only by providing the group of children the musical tools for the performance, but also teaching it in a such fun way that they felt happy to learn it, thus bringing this urban group closer to other cultures such as Quechua and Aymara.

While piano is the Dalcroze instrument of choice because of its wide range of pitches, textures, and colors, it was not essential in this project. Voice and guitar were used successfully. Perhaps, in the future, it will be possible to experiment with the variety of native instruments in Bolivia.

Teacher training is especially important. It will be advantageous to get more Dalcroze educators to Bolivia, as well as more training centers.

Dittus, Jeremy, “A textbook for Dalcroze Teacher Training towards the Dalcroze Certificate”. 7th Draft Edition. 2018.

Ministerio de Educación del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (2014) “Educación primaria comunitaria vocacional.”

Moreno Daniel, Vargas Gonzalo, Osorio Daniela (2014) Nación, diversidad e identidad en el Estado Plurinacional.

Paye Paye Remberto (2010) “Instrumentos musicales en función al calendario agrícola de la cosmovisión andina”.

Rosso Orosco, Carlos. (2010). “Panorama de la música en Bolivia. Una primera aproximación”. Revista Ciencia y Cultura, (24), 153-173. Recuperado en 08 de octubre de 2021, available in: http://www.scielo. org.bo/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S207733232010000100010&lng=es&tlng=es.

Sigl, Evelin y Mendoza Salazar David. “No se baila así no más. Danzas de Bolivia” Tomo II. (1ra. Ed.), 2012

Karen Pérez Vila Karen Pérez Vila was born in Oruro, Bolivia. She is a physician and holds a bachelor’s degree in music and a diploma in ethnomusicology and folklore. She plays the charango, a Bolivian native instrument.

She also plays the piano and guitar at an intermediate level. She serves as a music teacher at the Utasawa School in La Paz, Bolivia, with children from six to twelve years old. She runs the Early Music Education Center “Música para Crecer” in the cities of Oruro and La Paz. She has been training at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies since 2019.

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Applications of the Jaques-Dalcroze Methodology in piano teaching for children: a Costa Rican approach María Verónica Jiménez Quesada (Costa Rica)

During the beginning stages of learning an instrument, teachers must remember that creativity is an essential resource, particularly when working with children who are currently receiving introductory auditory and motor skills training to better understand the instrument. It behooves teachers to research different pedagogical techniques to captivate students early on and provide them with a more meaningful piano learning experience. The Jaques-Dalcroze methodology proposes a freer style of learning which emphasizes experiences first, thereby allowing the students to explore music in a multisensory, dynamic way.

In Le rythme, la musique et l’education (1975), JaquesDalcroze stresses that “Every sound method of teaching music must be based on hearing as much as emission of sounds” (Jaques-Dalcroze, 30). Furthermore, to facilitate development of these skills, students must embark on a process that involves assimilating all the musical elements in a comprehensive manner involving singing, improvisation, solfège, and listening while using gross motor skills and corporal expression to learn and internalize music.

This article will highlight how learning the piano in piano lessons can be enhanced if the student takes Dalcroze eurhythmics classes as well.

Rhythm and learning to play piano Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s research methodology stemmed from the need to include bodily expression in music learning and his discovery that rhythmic problems could be solved by teaching students to feel their muscles contract and relax. According to the Dalcroze approach, the movement of the human body can be converted into feelings and expression and thereby associated with musical concepts.

The information that a student receives through their body movement first travels through the nervous system; the brain then translates these sensations into musical knowledge (Choksy et al., 1986). In his time, Jaques-Dalcroze believed his experiences in starting with body movement in teaching could later enhance musical improvisation, reading, and writing.

When learning piano, the body becomes an important vehicle for developing musical sensitivity, rhythmic precision, listening, spatial perception, and awareness.

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Jaques-Dalcroze stated, “All tempo changes (allegro, andante, accelerando, ritenuto), dynamic expressions of energy (forte, piano, crescendo, diminuendo), can be executed with the body” (Jaques-Dalcroze 1975, p. 57). The Dalcrozian methodology consists of initiating the discovery of musical concepts through body movement before they are internalized and analyzed theoretically.

Dalcroze eurhythmics greatly facilitates learning the piano, since the Dalcroze approach associates listening-motor experiences with instrument discovery and facilitates a deeper acquisition of musical elements, resulting in a lively and engaging experience. Developing and including bodily movement and rhythm provides students with an enhanced, more detailed awareness of their own bodies, greater movement dexterity, and a more accurate use of space on the keyboard.

Instrumental Improvisation Improvisation plays a fundamental educational role in the Dalcroze methodology. Piano improvisation is used by teachers during the lesson and is an essential tool for developing student creativity. It motivates them to devise body movements and improvise melodies and rhythms which they will eventually explore with the instrument.

During the initial stages, piano improvisation is taught as a game between the student and the teacher, which is executed through imitation. Certain skills must be developed so that students may acquire a repertoire of musical choices to use as part of their own creative process. Some of these choices are described by Marie-Laure Bachmann as “repeated notes, scales, arpeggios, the modification of force, weight, speed, direction, coordination, simultaneity, alternation, dissociation of two hands, among others” (Le Rythme 2011, p. 25). Once these auditory and technical resources are internalized, the students can develop their own musical discourse without the need for a previous model.

It must be emphasized that initial student progress depends on the teacher’s ability to be a good improvisation model and motivate the student through images, games, and stories.

This outlook encourages a fun and natural approach to the instrument through the student’s continued exploration with the teacher as a guide. However, an emotive and affective relationship must be established between the teacher,

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student, and the instrument before attempting to execute perfect rhythms and notes. Improvisation provides the means for piano students to better understand music while enjoying the experience of creation.

and when they hear piano (tío Conejo). In addition, the drum mentioned in the story can be used to introduce a rhythm, which the children can recognize, and which can then be used as an improvisational motif on the piano.

How can rhythm and improvisation be combined when learning to play the piano?

It is worth mentioning that the quality of these activities depends on the improvisational dexterity of the teacher, which contributes significantly to optimal student comprehension. For instance, during the improvisation activity, if a piano and forte are not executed accurately, the results will not be satisfactory, and the proposed objective will not be attained.

As a piano professor at the University of Costa Rica Department of Music, I have been able to implement many practices that have allowed students to explore piano improvisation based on their existing knowledge of the instrument. I will briefly describe an activity that conveys how improvisation and rhythmics complement each other when learning the piano.

When teaching younger children, an imaginary world is used to create stories based on three musical notions (piano, forte, and specific rhythm). This is an invaluable pedagogical strategy, provided that the activity is led by a teacher with preparation and dedication. The described activity begins as the teacher reads a story to the class, accompanied by musical improvisation on the piano. During the first stage, students are expected to only listen to the story and recognize the contrasting sounds. To reinforce Costa Rican culture, I selected a section from the classic children’s tale, Cuentos de mi tía Panchita1 (Stories of my Aunt Panchita) or any other story.

In the story “How tío Conejo (Uncle Rabbit) tricked tía Ballena (Aunt Whale) and tío Elefante (Uncle Elephant)” by Carmen Lyra, tía Ballena and tío Elefante are good friends, but they end up angry at each other because of a prank by tío Conejo.

He made them believe he had a cow stuck in mud, and he needed the help of the strongest to free it. For that, he took tía Ballena’s tail, tied it to a rope, and told her to pull hard when she heard the drum. Then he did the same with tío Elefante. Tío Conejo tied a rope to tío Elefante’s trunk, and instead of tying both to the cow, he tied them together without them knowing. At the sound of the drum, they both pulled in opposite directions, and after fighting against each other, they ended up tired and very angry, all while the sassy tío Conejo laughed.

In a story like this, there are several characters and elements that can be used to introduce musical concepts. For example, tío Elefante and tío Conejo can be represented by two different sounds that involve forte and piano. This type of contrast is essential in sensitivity work with children who are beginning to learn music.

After the students experience dynamic change through musical improvisation on the piano, the teacher can use specific elements in a quick reaction exercise. The children are tasked with showing, using a previously established gesture by the teacher, when they hear forte (tío Elefante) 1

By Carmen Lyra (María Isabel Carvajal), an author of many classics of Costa Rican children’s literature.

The aforementioned exercise is a typical example of the Dalcroze methodology, though it is only a small sample of what can be done. That said, it is desirable that these experiences be further reinforced with elements that allow greater visual, auditory, and kinesthetic understanding. After performing the exercise, the student is then guided toward a path of discovery using graphics or drawings previously prepared by the teacher to analyze the activities and musical ideas.

For purposes of heightened assimilation, the teacher may complete an exercise using the three aforementioned musical concepts (piano, forte, and a specific rhythm) and adding vocal improvisation in addition to graphics. As an example, the students can use “pleem, pleem” for piano (conejo), “poom poom” as forte (elefante), and “doom da da doom” as a rhythmic pattern (one quarter note—two eighth notes—one quarter note). Once all the students have performed vocal exploration with varied sounds, the group is divided into three subgroups, where each subgroup demonstrates one of the studied concepts. At this point, the story that was read at the beginning of the activity is retold using body movement and vocal improvisation.

Once these exercises are concluded, the students are ready to begin exploring sound directly on the piano in a more concrete fashion, using the same Dalcroze framework used in movement class. According to Anne-Claire Rey-Bellet, “In piano initiation, through improvisation, there are several important processes in the development of activities such as trying, becoming aware, consciously redoing an exercise, analyzing, integrating, recreating, since the variation and repetition of exercises helps the integration of musical concepts” (Le Rythme 2011, p. 9).

Students have responded very positively to these exercises and, occasionally, become so engaged that they add a different ending or add characters which requires adapting the story.

What are the benefits of group lessons in piano teaching?

Although the focus of the Dalcroze approach is on group classes, it is important to state that they do not replace individual piano lessons but, rather, complement the individual lesson on the instrument with a more dynamic musical experience in the company of others who are also experiencing the process. There are many benefits that result from this type of collaborative learning, some of which are listed as follows:

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Applications of the Jaques-Dalcroze Methodology in piano teaching for children, continued

•

•

Group learning allows beginners to affirm their knowledge through verbalization. Once they embark on the process of acquiring new knowledge, the teacher encourages students to conceptualize through their own experiences and work together to find answers. This methodology facilitates piano learning, since students are motivated to be active, responsible, and autonomous subjects in their own learning process when collaborating with other classmates. This is the opposite of a traditional piano course where the student receives complete and direct information solely from the teacher.

During group lessons, students can learn whenever the teacher corrects a fellow student. In addition, during class, students must present their piece individually in front of the rest of the class. In these cases, students learn from their teacher’s feedback as well from the presentations of their fellow classmates.

•

Making music together with other classmates provides students with an enjoyable and motivational activity they can share with others. It also reinforces self-esteem and self-confidence by validating the students in a group setting. This is achieved when the teacher fosters an appropriate climate in the classroom that is imbued with mutual respect and positive reinforcement.

•

The design for this type of course is based on Dalcroze eurhythmics where result, reaction, body exploration, and auditory training exercises are executed in groups and then adapted to the piano.

•

Group piano lessons foster affective relationships among students by creating a positive impact that is the result of making music with others, be they peers or teachers (Jiménez, V. 2019).

What are the benefits of incorporating JaquesDalcroze’s methodology into piano lessons?

•

Collaborative piano instruction based on the Dalcroze methodology is characterized by the use of the body as a medium for dynamic learning in a setting where students can internalize corporal, spatial, vocal, and musical ideas, which they later reproduce on the piano. This allows learning the piano and music in a holistic manner which is also more enjoyable for students.

•

Improvisation is a key principle of the Jaques-Dalcroze approach. The experience described above shows how this principle is present and compatible with a piano course.

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Bodily response and ear-training games facilitate the understanding and rapid attainment of musical objectives, which can then be transferred to the piano after piano technique exercises.

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•

Creativity and imagination provide recreational outlets for learning the piano and add an element of fun.

Improvisation encourages students to create their own music, as well as provide opportunities to explore and play freely on the instrument.

Conclusion There are many positives to Dalcroze eurhythmics, especially when it comes to developing listening skills, increasing creativity, and gaining musical sensitivity. Furthermore, students experience music firsthand through their bodies in a group setting, increasing their musical intuition, developing their critical skills, and reinforcing knowledge gained in actual piano lessons.

More broadly, bodily movement and improvisation are essential to learning any instrument. After applying Dalcroze methodology to my lessons, I experienced how my own playing, listening, and teaching underwent a positive change.

I encourage all piano teachers to expand their horizons and consider alternative teaching strategies while remaining attentive to the needs of their students. It is important for teachers to adopt an open attitude toward different pedagogical experiences, which in turn allows them to progress and enrich their teaching. As teachers, they must be aware of their responsibility in guiding students using a whole-system, multisensory perspective while providing students with a satisfactory learning experience.

References Bachmann, M. (2011) Rhythm, musical improvisation. Published by the FIER (International Federation of Rhythm Teachers) Choksy, L., Abramson, R., Gillespie, A., y Woods D. (1986). Teaching music in the twentieth century. U.S.A. Prentice-Hall.

Jaques-Dalcroze, E. (1965). Rhythm, music and education. Lausanne.

Foetisch-Fréres S. A. Éditeurs.

Jiménez, V. (2010). “Piano teaching in the Basic Stage of Music at the University of Costa Rica, Palmares Branch, in children from 7 to 12 years old, from a constructivist perspective through the application of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s theory of musical learning. Case study.”

[Unpublished Master’s Thesis] Universidad Estatal a Distancia.

Jiménez, V. (2019). The contributions of Jaques-Dalcroze Rhythmics for beginning pianists. [Tesis de Maestría no publicada] Haute École de Musique de Genève Lyra, C. (2012). Cuentos de mi Tía Panchita. (Stories of my Aunt Panchita) San José. Editorial Costa Rica Rey-Bellet A. (2011) Introduction to piano through improvisation.

Published by the FIER (International Federation of Rhythm Teachers)

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Veronica Jiménez Quesada Veronica Jiménez Quesada holds a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and a master degree in psychopedagogy from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED).

She is a graduate of the Haute École de Musique de Genève, in Switzerland, where she received a a bachelor’s of music in music and movement and continued on to receive a master degree in Jaques Dalcroze Rhythmics.

Ms. Jiménez is an adjunct professor of piano and music theory at the Conservatorio de Occidente.

In addition, she teaches various undergraduate courses in music education degree at the University of Costa Rica, Sede de Occidente.

Prior to these posts, she worked as a teacher at Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical (SINEM) in Costa Rica and the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and Ecole La Lyre in Geneva. She is currently part of the teaching staff at the Jaques-Dalcroze Training Program at Universidad Panamericana in México City.

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Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics training in South America: a journey that has already begun Pablo Cernik (Argentina)

My studies of Dalcroze eurythmics in Argentina began with a postgraduate program at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Buenos Aires. In order to access these studies, students were first required to hold a degree in piano teaching. The degree I subsequently obtained in this program was that of Superior Teacher of Musical Rhythmics, Jaques-Dalcroze Method. This title is different from what we know today as the Certificate or License because those degree programs were not yet running in Argentina. The program in Buenos Aires was directed by Lía Sirouyan, who had studied in Europe with Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. She was my pedagogy teacher even at ninety-two years old. My eurhythmics teacher was Lilia Sánchez, to whom I owe all my enthusiasm in that first approach to this methodology. At the time, I didn’t know it was just the beginning of a long journey.

Years later, I was admitted to the l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, where I studied for two years and ultimately became a teacher. I finally decided to go for the Diplôme Supérieur. By then, I already had teaching experience, as well as professional musical experience as a pianist for opera and ballet. But the stay in Geneva changed my vision of Dalcroze eurhythmics, of teaching, and of music as a whole. I had never experienced anything of the sort before—the quality of the teaching of body movement, the contemporary dance lessons, the spacious classrooms of the IJD, the strong foundation with piano improvisation, all of which had a different approach from my previous studies in Argentina. I understood the importance of connecting different artistic disciplines. As I write this article, I recall the experience of spending a week together with students from an architecture school, carrying out a project to choreograph a symphonic poem by Honneger. In Geneva, I acquired a broader choreographic and pictorial vision of music, while also acquainting myself with modern dance.

The variety of teachers and approaches were the most important takeaways from the IJD and proved key to my learning. It was as though someone had offered me many shoes to try on, then asked me to choose the pair I liked most or the style which best fit me. At the IJD, I also got to know the work of important international teachers who visited us from the USA, the UK, and Australia during conferences or summer

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courses. All of this ultimately resulted in a consolidation: a vision of eurhythmics that combined the Dalcroze tradition with my personal artistic values.

Pablo Cernik

The Dalcroze certificate program in Latin America Several years ago, when I was living in Barcelona, I had the opportunity to teach and co-direct the Dalcroze certificate program at the Escola de Música Joan Llongueres together with Anna Alegre (2010–2011). I learned a lot there, both from colleagues and from the study program they had been running for many years.

Later on, Dr. Elda Nelly Treviño offered me the position of pedagogical director of the first Latin American Dalcroze certificate program in Mexico (2012–2016). Some years after, Alazne Arana and I created the first Dalcroze certificate program in Chile from 2015 to the present; then, together with Lilia Sánchez, we did the same in Argentina from 2017 to the present. In this country, previous professional training in eurhythmics did exist, but an agreement with the IJD in Geneva had never been made before. This agreement gave us permission to use the Dalcroze “trademark” and to award degrees under that name. There were many advantages provided by the agreement with the IJD: promoting teacher exchanges with European educators, raising awareness of South American Dalcroze training in the rest of the world, and guaranteeing an academic standard.

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Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics training in South America, continued

In Chile and Argentina, we decided that the programs should officially be hosted by an institution of higher learning like a conservatory or university, which could generate more interest than, for instance, the Asociación Jacques-Dalcroze Argentina de Rítmica. We aimed to reach as wide a variety of students as possible. In Argentina, the Dalcroze program was founded in the Universidad Nacional de las Artes, a renowned institution. As a free public university, its financial resources are limited, but it receives students from all over the country and from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. In Chile, the program was established in a private institution with a long track record: the Escuela Moderna de Música y Danza. Its facilities are ideal for Dalcroze activities; however, the cost of tuition limits access to a small group of students, which is why the program is in permanent danger of disappearing.

Both institutions have given us all possible support and have shown great interest in hosting the Dalcroze certificate program. They are always willing to find solutions whenever problems arise. I am extremely grateful for this, and I hope that the program will continue through them for many years ahead.

Students who enter the program are mostly experienced music educators. In the case of the university postgraduate program in Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Certificate level) in Buenos Aires, many students are already professional musicians who come searching for Dalcroze tools. Some of them are composers, or well-known musicians and singers.

Others have been part of the writing team for music education programs, and many of them are teacher trainers at the university. But the psychomotor and expressive body approach is new to most of them. Because the studies are compressed into intense periods, body development presents limitations that are difficult to overcome. When I chose faculty for a body technique class, I opted for a choreographer who could identify and develop the creative aspect in students, leaving the technical facet in second place since the development of techniques would require more time and commitment than we could offer. In other words, once students complete their studies, I prefer them to be able to imagine and compose with the possibilities of their bodies, instead of having great corporal control but little creativity. Creative Body Techniques and Body Expression end with an open presentation instead of a final exam, as the other courses require.

The truth is that the average South American student approaches the methodology in search of pedagogical tools to apply to his or her own music classes. This is why I believe that corporal and pedagogical creativity needs to be trained as much as possible to achieve lively and flexible teaching in accordance with Dalcroze principles. To accomplish that objective, our syllabi include an introduction to Dalcroze pedagogy, which includes live classes with children and analyses of various pedagogical situations.

Dalcroze Certificate’s students, 2018, Buenos Aires

Current programs of study in Argentina and Chile The programs are not implemented in the same way in Chile and Argentina.

Having said that, the certificate programs in Chile and Argentina do not provide full pedagogical training as understood from a Dalcrozian perspective. Its graduates may not be called “Eurhythmics teachers.” That course of study would take longer and would not be easily affordable.

Our programs in both countries currently aim to impart insight on the basics of eurhythmics so students can apply them to their professional fields. The next step that we would like to take is to broaden the scope of the studies by adding observation classes and real teaching practice with children, which would enable us to offer a pedagogical license degree within the Dalcroze methodology.

Musical development in the certificate programs tends to progress rapidly despite the short periods of time spent In Santiago, the capital of Chile, training consists of four training. Students who take the program—typically music in-person modules of ten days each, requiring full-time teachers—continue their work by taking online classes on dedication, and lasts two years, with virtual meetings and improvisation and ear training and by watching previously follow-ups between the modules. In Buenos Aires, there is a recorded videos, thus keeping this part of their studies in total of twelve trainings held on a monthly basis, each of which permanent evolution. Piano and singing improvisation are lasts three days. The whole program is a year and a half long. also given a considerable number of hours, with the aim

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Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics training in South America, continued

of accompanying body movement and introducing students to this strong pedagogical tool which distinguishes our methodology.

Teachers of other disciplines, such as drama and percussion, also collaborate in specific projects, such as the musicalization of poems or stories.

Issues hindering implementation of the certificate program in South America Shortage of teachers The main hurdle to the implementation of the internationally recognized certificate programs in South America is the lack of funds available to invite teachers from abroad. The economies of Latin American countries are typically behind those of the European Union.

As pedagogical director of the Chilean and Argentine programs, I consider it of paramount importance to ensure the diversity of qualified teachers. Only those who hold the Diplôme Supérieur are qualified to teach all the areas covered by the methodology: rhythmics, improvisation, pedagogy, plastique animée, ear training, etc. There are currently only two Latin American teachers who hold this Diplôme—Silvia Del Bianco, who is based in Geneva, and myself, residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am very grateful to Silvia Del Bianco—the director of the Institute Jaques-Dalcroze—who has collaborated with us by teaching in both Argentina and Chile (despite it interfering with her vacations in her hometown). The rest of the teachers holding the Diplôme who collaborate with us come from Europe: Eugènia Arús (Spain), Ava Loiacono (Italy), and Hélène Nicolet (Switzerland).

Other teachers in possession of a Dalcroze license or master’s degree can also make significant contributions from their specific experience with children, the elderly, actors, dancers, general education schools, etc. This is the case in Santiago of Silvia Contreras and Alazne Arana, while Lilia Sánchez, a highly experienced eurhythmics teacher, participates in the Dalcroze certificate program in Buenos Aires.

So far, in addition to those hosting the programs, some external institutions have provided us with financial aid to invite teachers from abroad. The Institute Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva has helped by funding a percentage of the costs of the traveling expenses of their teachers; the Universidad de Barcelona has financed the trips of Dr. Eugènia Arús; and the Asociación Jaques-Dalcroze Argentina de Rítmica (AJDAR) has always taken care of fees for the foreign teachers, which are much higher than those of the local teachers due to the disparity between our local currency and the euro.

Adequate classrooms and other material requirements When I was pedagogical director of the first certificate program in Morelia, Mexico, the conservatory adapted the classrooms by adding wooden floors, which were required to carry out the lessons. Such an investment, however, was a large financial expenditure for the institution, and it was hard to implement.

Adequate classrooms for body movement are a problem everywhere, given the small size of conservatory classrooms and the high cost of refurbishing floors with the suitable materials. Auditoriums of the music conservatories are in high demand, so it becomes nearly impossible to use them for Dalcroze training. Pianos are also scarce, and electric pianos are often added in improvisation classes when more than one piano is required.

In Argentina, public universities and conservatories have limited resources to set up spaces for Dalcroze instruction, and therefore classes are often held in external spaces, either rented or borrowed. On the other hand, private music schools in Chile, such as the Escuela Moderna de Música y Danza, offer excellent architectural facilities, but the high cost of tuition means few students. The program is always at risk of disappearing.

Language

Dr. Eugenia Arús teaching for the Certificate program in Buenos Aires, 2001.

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The short bibliography available on the Dalcroze method is mostly written in English or French. Neither of these languages are spoken or read fluently in Argentina, Chile, or Mexico, and therefore it is often necessary to translate articles and chapters of books into Spanish.

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Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics training in South America, continued

Dalcroze certificate students in Buenos Aires, 2018.

Distance The exchange with teachers and students from abroad was a key element in my studies when I was a student. I had the chance to meet innovative teachers such as Karin Greenhead (United Kingdom) and Lisa Parker (United States). It is a pity that this cannot happen with students in South America.

Summer courses and conferences in Europe, Canada, the USA, Japan, or Australia are far away , and trips and stays worldwide are much more expensive for Latin Americans, who live in countries with more fragile economies.

Positive aspects Previous pedagogical experience The training of music teachers in Latin America varies significantly depending on the country. In Chile and Argentina, music teachers in general education (primary and secondary schools) need to have a degree, with medium to high instrumental mastery. This does not happen in Uruguay, however, where those inclined to music teaching do not have access to specific, focused training. This is because Uruguay does not have yet professional studies in music education. There are only studies to become a performer or composer, which enables one to teach in an institution. Argentina, in contrast, has an important history of pedagogic innovation, including some well-known names in Spain and Latin America: Silvia Malbrán, Violeta H. de Gainza, María Fux, Patricia Stokoe. The previous pedagogical experience of students from Argentina and Chile facilitates the implementation of an intensive part-time program.

Folklore and local culture Being able to develop Dalcroze pedagogy in a Latin American environment favors the incorporation of the musical heritage of the region: our folklore, children’s repertoire, language, and culture — all of which diversify and enrich the Jaques-Dalcroze methodology and make it more universal.

Some typical bagualas are from northern Argentina, as well

as Peru and Bolivia. They are excellent examples of ternary rhythms, with melodies based in major chords or pentatonic scales. An example is on page 34.

The future As the director of both programs in Argentina and Chile, I am concerned with striking a balance between these extremes: 1. Giving access to training to as many interested students as possible from different countries. This is why tuition needs to meet the financial capabilities of the students, many of whom are already working teachers.

2. Providing the optimal material conditions to carry out the programs: adequate facilities, musical instruments, covering costs of trips and accommodations of invited faculty.

We currently have foreign students in both countries: Brazilians and Bolivians in Santiago, and a Paraguayan in Buenos Aires. I firmly believe that a Dalcroze training defined as “Latin American” must consider the sociocultural environment of its students, as well as offer financial help to access studies and encourage growth and adaptation of pedagogical strategies. For example, teaching in Chile, and in South America in general, is not well paid, open in relation to the cost of living. However, the costs of a study program like the one in Chile exceed three to five times what an average teacher can earn each month. For this reason, graduate programs are often offered in many monthly payments, but very few professors enroll.

Yet I am hopeful about the future of eurhythmics in Latin America. I dream of a network of solidly trained teachers who bond across and exchange ideas between the different countries of the region. Although I may never be able to see it myself, I hope that one day the economies of the countries will become more equal, allowing the flow of ideas and resources. The Dalcroze method will become ever stronger with the inclusion of different cultures worldwide.

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Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics training in South America, continued (anonymus)

I am the singing cricket I sing when it is hot, My song sings like water running under the sunset afternoons.

(anonymus)

I have a gentle little cow The meekest cow with cinnamon skin and butterfly stains.

(anonymus)

(2nd part)

Pablo Cernik Born in Argentina, Pablo Cernik is a National Piano Teacher and National Dalcroze Eurhythmics Teacher, and holds a bachelor’s of musical arts from the UNA and a diplôme supérieur from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze.

He is the president of the Argentinian Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics Association (AJDAR), member of the FIER Committee, and member of the Collège Jaques-Dalcroze.

He has taught eurhythmics, piano, and improvisation at the Conservatory “Musikene” in San Sebastian, Spain, as well as the IJD, the Institut Joan Llongueres in Barcelona, and many others. He has given workshops, seminars, and conferences in Spain, Switzerland, Italy,

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France, Japan, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Argentina, as well as online conferences for Peru and Uruguay. In addition, he has served as an opera and ballet pianist in Argentina and abroad.

He currently teaches Dalcroze eurhythmics in teacher training programs for professional students and in the drama department at the UNA. He is the director of studies of the Dalcroze Certificate in Santiago de Chile (Escuela Moderna de Música y Danza) and in Buenos Aires (Postgraduate Course, UNA-DAMUS), both in agreement with the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze.

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MARTA SANCHEZ DALCROZE TRAINING CENTER music.cmu.edu/dalcroze

Come join us for an exciting year of Eurhythmics study!

All Workshops offer performers, conductors, music educators (preschool through college), studio teachers, music therapists, and movement specialists practical applications of the Dalcroze principles to performance and teaching.

February 19–20, 2022 Two-Day Workshop CMU Dalcroze Winter Workshop

2022 Virtual Dalcroze Meet-up

With Stephen Neely and special guest Greg Ristow.

January 24

9pm EST

Meet-Up #37

July 11–15, 2022 One-Week Workshop July 11–29, 2022 Three-Week Workshop

February 5

9pm EST

Masterclass #20

February 7

2pm EST

Meet-Up #38

46th Summer Dalcroze Eurhythmics Workshops

February 28 9pm EST

Meet-Up #39

Beginner, intermediate, and advanced level

March 14

2pm EST

Meet-Up #40

March 19

2pm EST

Masterclass #21

March 28

9pm EST

Meet-Up #41

April 11

2pm EST

Meet-Up #42

April 23

9pm EST

Masterclass #22

classes are offered during the One-Week and the Three-Week Workshops.

July 16, 2022 Music and Cognition Workshop A Neuropsychological Look at Music and Emotion With host Andrew Goldman, PhD, and special guest Matthew Sachs, PhD.

Visit virtualdalcroze.org to sign up for the mailing list and find out about the latest events.

CONTACT: Stephen

Neely, Director | Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center at Carnegie Mellon School of Music Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 | music.cmu.edu/dalcroze | music-dalcroze@cmu.edu

Read what people are saying about Dalcroze at Carnegie Mellon at music.cmu.edu/dalcroze

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THE DSA MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND The Scholarship Task Force evaluated seven (7) meritbased and four (4) need-based scholarship applications.

On Friday, April 9, 2021 the Board of Trustees voted on a motion to approve this task force’s recommendation and release $2,250 from the DSA Memorial Scholarship Fund to cover the cost of the awards.

Providing financial aid to students pursuing Dalcroze certification is a critically important function of the Society. Through the DSA Memorial Scholarship Fund, we are able to assist serious students at a Dalcroze training center. Please consider donating to the Memorial Scholarship Fund. Give easily and securely online via the website: dalcrozeusa.org/donate

Thank You!

2020-2021 DONORS Tomoko Abe Maria Abeshouse

Mira Larson

Catherine Alger

Cynthia Lilley

Ruth Alperson

Alex Marthaler

Adriana Ausch-Simmel

Skye McManus

Eric Barnhill

Danielle Miller

Fabian Bautz Terry Boyarsky Thomas Brotz Kelli Cahoone Javan Carson Patrick Cerria Jing Chang Thomas Charsky Deborah Clem Steven Cosnek Jeremy Dittus Jill Gleim Leann Herrington Lauren Hodgson Mari Izumi Xing Jin Jill Jones

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Michael Joviala

Selma L. Odom Natalie Ozeas Thomas Parente Dawn Pratson Susan Beem Riggs Sydell Roth Randall Sheets Adam Sheldon Joshua Smith John R. Stevenson Elda Nelly Treviño Melissa Tucker Eun Ji Whang Karen Williams Ziyi Xiong As of May 24, 2021

Merit-based Scholarships Mira Larsen

Dalcroze School of the Rockies

Judy Parker

Longy School of Music

Sonia Hu

Carnegie Mellon University

Andrea Kleesattel

Dalcroze Canada’s summer teacher training

DSA CHAPTERS: EXECUTIVE BOARDS NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER Supporting Dalcroze Education in CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT. President: Adriana Ausch-Simmel Vice-President: Caroline Ly Secretary: Anne Edgerton Treasurer: Phil Berman NEW YORK CHAPTER President: Lisa Dove Vice-President: Clelia Cavallaro Treasurer: Pauline Huang NORTHWEST CHAPTER Supporting Dalcroze Education in WA, OR, and BC. President: Jared Ballance Vice-President and Treasurer: Xing Jin Secretary: Molly Porterfield PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER Supporting Dalcroze Education in Southeastern PA. President: Dawn Pratson Vice-President: Barbara Golden Secretary: Gema Valencia-Turco Treasurer: Leo Zumpetta ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER Supporting Dalcroze Education in Colorado.

President: Katie Couch Vice-President: Emma Shubin Treasurer: Lori Forden

DALCROZE CONNECTIONS • WINTER 2021 VOL.6, NO.1 • WWW.DALCROZEUSA.ORG • LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1 (ENGLISH)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BEQUESTS

Anthony Molinaro, Board Chair, Acting Treasurer boardchair@dalcozeusa.org Lauren Hodgson, Vice-Chair vicechair@dalcrozeusa.org

The Dalcroze Society of America gratefully accepts monetary donations and bequests on an ongoing basis. The DSA w ​ elcomes the opportunity to work with donors to honor their wishes.

Paula Zerkle, Secretary secretary@dalcrozeusa.org

For more information,​​please contact​ executivedirector@dalcrozeusa.org​

Ruth Alperson, Trustee Patrick Cerria, Trustee Mary Dobrea-Grindahl, Trustee Cassandra Eisenreich, Trustee Lori Forden, Trustee Cynthia Lilley, Trustee Michael Joviala, ex officio, Professional Development Committee Chair Alex Marthaler, ex officio, Executive Director Photo Credit: Kathryn Nockels

MEMBERSHIP: WWW.DALCROZEUSA.ORG/JOIN • Support the mission of the DSA • Receive discounts at DSA sponsored events • Access online videos by master teachers • Access and contribute to the lesson plan library • Access the “American Dalcroze Journal” Archives • Appear in our Member Directory • Become a member of a local DSA chapter (if available) • Request “Dalcroze Connections” magazine, print edition • Receive the member-only email newsletter • Automatic membership in FIER (La Fédération Internationale des Enseignants de Rythmique: The International Federation of Eurhythmics Teachers) $60/yr ........................ Regular Member $25/yr ........................ Student Member $70/yr ........................ International Member $100/yr ...................... Institutional/Library Member

DALCROZE CONNECTIONS • WINTER 2021 VOL.6, NO.1 • WWW.DALCROZEUSA.ORG • LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1 (ENGLISH)

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Dalcroze Society of America #1047 6375 Penn Ave Suite B Pittsburgh, PA 15206

JEREMY DITTUS Oh, the Places You Will Go!

Saturday, December 11, 11am–1pm ET Featuring video from the 2020 DSA National Conference

ARTIST-IN-ACTION SEMINAR TICKETS

$20 DSA Members

$40 Regular Admission $5 DSA Student Members

(ONLINE)

Artist-in-Action Seminars are recorded for you to watch (or re-watch) later.

(PRINT)

What happens beyond that first year of Dalcroze training? Jeremy will discuss his children’s demo class with his students ages 11–13, who have been studying Dalcroze for 7–9 years or longer.